Jesus, With Sinners
Pastor David T. Elms 4/26/2026
Loading…
0:00
47:05
Summary
Pastor David T. Elms explores the profound scene of Calvary, focusing on how Jesus intentionally positioned himself between two criminals. He challenges listeners to move from 'reviling' God through doubt to a place of humble surrender, reminding us that no one is too far gone for the promise of 'today in paradise.'
Key points
- •The desire for humility in death: Copernicus requested an epitaph identifying him not with the greatness of the Apostles Peter or Paul, but with the humble plea of the thief on the cross.
- •Understanding the 'Malefactor': The criminals crucified with Jesus were likely violent offenders or insurrectionists, highlighting that Jesus was intentionally numbered with the worst of society.
- •The shift from reviling to repentance: While both thieves initially mocked Jesus, one experienced a transformation, moving from habitual blasphemy to a fearless defense of Christ's innocence.
- •The power of 'Today': Jesus did not require a complex theological confession from the thief; he responded to a simple plea for remembrance with an immediate promise of paradise.
- •The commonality of sin: Every person, whether a lifelong believer or a first-time visitor, must approach God without self-righteousness, acknowledging that they are 'sinners with Jesus.'
Scripture
Repentance
Grace
Humility
The Cross
Life application
Identify one area where you have allowed 'habitual doubt' or discouragement to revile God's promises in your heart. Replace that internal narrative this week by explicitly choosing to verbalize your trust in Jesus, regardless of your current circumstances.
Reflection questions
- In what ways have you tried to 'assimilate' into the common culture to avoid being seen as 'odd' for your faith?
- Pastor Elms noted that the thief didn't offer excuses for his past. Are there justifications you are holding onto that prevent you from fully repenting?
- How does it change your perspective of Jesus to know he stood in line with sinners to be baptized and hung between criminals to die?
- Why is it often harder for 'religious' people to admit they are sinners than it is for those who are 'unchurched'?
Have a question about this sermon?
Ask our AI and get an answer with citations.
Full transcript
0:00other tongues.
0:00Uh
0:01In Frauenburg, Prussia, which is now
0:03Poland, on the coast of the Baltic Sea,
0:06at the Frombork Cathedral,
0:09the famous astronomer Copernicus was
0:12buried.
0:14He, renowned as he was,
0:17made so many amazing things in science
0:20that he was amazingly ahead of his time.
0:24But when this man of science gave them
0:26the epitaph to place as an inscription
0:29on his tombstone,
0:31he said, "I want you to write on my
0:33tombstone,
0:35'I ask not such a favor as Paul
0:37received.
0:39I ask not for the grace such as Saint
0:41Peter obtained.
0:43But what on the cross thou to the thief
0:48didst give, O Jesus, I fervently pray,
0:53grant me.'"
0:55In the past 2 weeks I have been involved
0:57with three specific funerals, and I know
0:59the back workings of a few of those
1:02funerals. And one of them in specific
1:05did not happen exactly or even close to
1:08the way
1:09the person who died wanted their funeral
1:13to go.
1:14It's amazing how after you die, no
1:16matter what kind of plans you left to be
1:18conducted, you will have little to say
1:22about how you wanted your funeral to be.
1:25And it's crazy, as I witnessed it just a
1:28week ago, how a daughter or a son, I'm
1:32not going to decipher which, can decide
1:34that they want the funeral to be done
1:36differently because of personal hurts
1:39and inward angst that they have in their
1:42heart. They can change the wishes of a
1:45parent at the end of a funeral. So it
1:49was with Copernicus. He had requested
1:53that this statement, "I ask not such a
1:55favor as Paul received or the grace that
1:57Saint Peter received, but I ask only
2:00what on the cross thou didst give
2:03the thief,
2:05O Jesus, I fervently pray,
2:08give me.'"
2:10He was never given that. If you trust or
2:12track his tombstones, they didn't really
2:15know where he was laid until 2010. They
2:18had markers over his tomb. One war tore
2:21the marker down and it wasn't replaced
2:23till about the 16th century and then
2:25they replaced it again. On the first
2:28tombstone, it said, "Here lies a canon,
2:31a doctor, and an astronomer." After that
2:35one was broken down by the war, the
2:37second tombstone read, "Here lies a
2:40renowned astronomer who spanned filled
2:44both spheres, heaven
2:47and earth."
2:49It wasn't
2:50what Copernicus wanted.
2:52He would have never spoken so highly of
2:54himself.
2:55He only wanted it to say, "I ask not the
2:58favor that Paul received, nor the grace
3:01that St. Peter obtained, but what on the
3:04cross thou the thief didst give." "Oh,
3:07Jesus, I fervent fervently pray."
3:11"Grant me." I don't think in all of our
3:13Easter preaching and all of our
3:14preaching about the cross that we have
3:16adequately understood what happened on
3:19that day. Sometimes because we can put
3:21it in the capsule of one service that
3:23might last a sermon. My long ones go an
3:26hour. Generally, I stop there. My short
3:29ones go 30 minutes. I've been going for
3:316 minutes. I'm trying to watch the time.
3:33I will attempt to preach shorter. But
3:35listen to me. We do not adequately
3:38explain what happened at the cross.
3:40Sometimes we don't adequately envision
3:43what occurred on that day. All four
3:45gospels record that Jesus was crucified
3:49with two others.
3:52The first of his sayings was, "Father,
3:55forgive them for they know not what they
3:58do." But the second burst of words that
4:01comes from Jesus was a prayer that was
4:05more of a conversation between the two
4:09men that were hanging beside him. And
4:12one of the thieves
4:14said to him after he had spoken to the
4:17man on the other cross. He said, "Jesus,
4:21remember me when you come into your
4:25kingdom." This dying thief makes an
4:28appeal for pity, but it takes a little
4:30closer look to understand. It's more
4:33than just hastening through these seven
4:37word phrases that Jesus speaks from the
4:40cross. I've preached them as a series.
4:43Many of you have heard the the seven
4:45sayings from the cross. Some of you own
4:48books that are written about the seven
4:51sayings of a cross. But there is a dying
4:55criminal
4:56grasping and gasping for pity. "Jesus,
5:01will you remember me when I'm on on the
5:05other side?" One of the
5:08the the dying malefactors
5:12was more sour in his statements. He
5:16said,
5:18"Do you not know that that if this man
5:21be the Christ, why don't you save
5:23yourself
5:25and save us?" And this one of the two
5:30has a conversation back and forth with
5:33Jesus hanging in between. As if he isn't
5:39there, they talk about him. They're all
5:43going to die. Their death is merely
5:46hours away. All three will be taken down
5:50by sunset. Two of them will have their
5:53legs broken because they do not die from
5:56just the hanging. But Jesus did not need
5:59his legs broken. He had already died
6:02before sundown. And so, of course, we
6:06find these this discussion of Jesus. And
6:10I want to take a few moments and look at
6:12it a little deeper today. Will you go
6:14with me and consider some of the plain
6:19understandings of what occurred on the
6:21cross. I want to know more about the
6:24cross. If there's anything that builds
6:26my life towards loving the Lord, it's
6:29knowing the price he paid for me on
6:31Calvary. At the cross, at the cross,
6:34where I first saw the light and the
6:37burdens of my heart rolled away. You
6:40know that song. It was there by faith I
6:43received my sight and now I am happy all
6:48the day. Jesus, keep me near the cross.
6:52OH, ALL THE words of songs that are
6:55written and poems about the cross that
6:58were written and this one instrument
7:00that people wear around their neck, have
7:02tattooed on their arm, put up in their
7:04yard. They have flags with crosses on
7:06them. Every kind of expression about
7:09this instrument of martyrdom or
7:12instrument of crucifixion. It's all
7:15around on every continent around the
7:17entire globe. Why do we celebrate this
7:21cross so much? Why do we sing songs
7:24like, "I see a crimson stream of blood.
7:28It flows from Calvary. Its waves they
7:32reach the throne of God. They are
7:34sweeping over me. At the cross, at the
7:38cross, where I first saw the light and
7:42the burdens of my heart rolled away. It
7:46was there by faith I received my sight
7:50and now I am happy all the day." And you
7:54could sing five more cross songs and
7:56Calvary songs. At Calvary, all the great
8:00songs of the church that are built upon
8:03this pivotal moment. But sometimes we
8:06sneak past it so quickly as if it was
8:10was just a 5-minute event or a 15-minute
8:13event or an hour-long event and it was
8:17so much more than that. So, come with
8:20me. Come close as we hear the
8:24intricacies of a controversy,
8:27of this argument, THIS THIS BACK AND
8:30FORTH between two men as they're hanging
8:34on this cross. We know this conversation
8:37occurred BECAUSE THE BIBLE GOSPELS ALL
8:41report to us that there were two
8:44malefactors. It's not a word you use
8:46very often. It's a word that in the
8:48Greek literally means evil doer. It was
8:51a word that decidedly said you're more
8:54than just a
8:56small petty thief or more than a purse
8:59snapper
9:00or a snatcher. This is the kind of
9:01person that is renowned as a violent
9:04offender, as one that will hurt another,
9:07as one that would be a bandit that would
9:10operate in all kinds of painful ways.
9:13And so, the only people in that hour
9:16that could crucify was the Romans. The
9:18Jews did not have the legal authority to
9:21crucify one. And the only reason someone
9:24could be crucified was either that they
9:26were of the evil sort, not just common
9:29day petty theft, but this is the kind of
9:32which violence. Maybe they would use a
9:34deadly weapon. They would bring harm and
9:37murder in that process. That would
9:39qualify you for crucifixion. And the
9:42other crucifixion possibility was if you
9:44were a raiser of revolt, if you were one
9:47that was guilty of sedition, if you were
9:50one that was guilty of bringing an
9:52uprising against Caesar. And that is
9:56what we're looking at today. Three men
9:59that have been determined that you all
10:01are guilty of death. You either have
10:04fallen under the category of a violent
10:07evil doer or you are one that has raised
10:11up a sedition against Caesar. And now
10:14all three are dying. And there they are.
10:19Jesus crucified. But the Bible tells us
10:22he's there crucified with criminals.
10:25This man, the son of God, the son of
10:28man. They called him rabbi. Some called
10:31him Messiah. Some called him teacher.
10:34Others called him friend. Some believed
10:37that the reason Jesus was crucified
10:40between two thieves was because it was a
10:42cruel joke played by the Romans that
10:46they would not crucify this man by
10:49himself. That part of the frustration of
10:51Rome was that when you go to Israel,
10:54this is a different kind of people. This
10:57cruelty was a joke played by the Roman
11:00contingency that viewed Judea as an
11:04atheistic part of the world. Now, I know
11:07you and I are very familiar with the
11:08word atheist, but the Bible
11:11the old days, atheist meant you believe
11:13in one God. It was the Romans and the
11:16Greeks who came up with the word
11:18atheist. And if you didn't believe in
11:20the gods, plural, then you were an
11:23atheist because you only believed in one
11:25God. How dare that you would offend all
11:29the other gods by pretending like they
11:32didn't have a place in the world. Who do
11:34you think you are, you atheist, to
11:37believe that there's only one God, you
11:40atheist, who stand up and deny the fact
11:43that there's gods of the north and gods
11:45of the south and gods of the east and
11:47gods of the west. You must be an atheist
11:50if you're a monotheist.
11:52And so, this was a truth that was in the
11:54context of that era and that hour. And
11:57so, not only was it this oddity about
12:00Judea that they believed in monotheism.
12:03And I know you and I have heard of Islam
12:06and that they're monotheist, but you got
12:07to understand how young Islam is. It's a
12:10very, very young religion. It cannot go
12:12nearly far as back as far back as the
12:15doctrines of Noah and Abraham and the
12:18oneness of God. No, this is something
12:21that goes way on back beyond Islamic
12:23movement. So, there was only one group
12:25of people that even believed in
12:27monotheism. Everybody else believed that
12:29fire was a god and lightning was a god
12:31and thunder was a god and the grass was
12:34the god and the land was a god and the
12:36sea was a god. The waves were a god and
12:39the trees were a god and the leaves were
12:40a god and the eagle was a god and a hawk
12:43was a god. And there are many people
12:45nowadays that are fallen in that same
12:47kind of thing. Big fancy word,
12:48pantheism. It's just god is in
12:51everything and is everywhere. But if you
12:53know your Bible, the Bible makes it
12:56plain. God is not an eagle. He is like
12:58an eagle, but he is not an eagle. God is
13:01like the wind. He is not wind, but he is
13:04like the wind. God is like a rock. God
13:07is not a rock, but rocks have at times
13:10been representative of God. God is a
13:14stand-alone almighty all-powerful
13:18deity and he said, "I have looked and
13:20there are none beside me. Unto me is
13:24given all power in
13:28in heaven and in earth." Some of y'all
13:31hear me today. All power in heaven and
13:34earth. There's not a demigod, a junior
13:36god, a god junior, a god on the side, a
13:39god over there and a god over here, a
13:41god of the day and a god of the night, a
13:43god of the mountain and a god of the
13:44valley. NO, THERE'S A GOD OF GOD OF GOD
13:47OF GOD. HE is king of kings and lord of
13:50lords. He is righteous, rose of Sharon,
13:53LILY OF THE VALLEY, BRIGHT AND MORNING
13:55STAR, FAIREST OF 10,000 TO MY SOUL. HE
13:58IS THE
14:00ALMIGHTY,
14:02ALMIGHTY,
14:03ALMIGHTY. But the Romans thought that's
14:05an oddity. That's weird. Uh no, the
14:08Greeks at least knew there were many
14:10gods. They just named them different.
14:11They did the same thing, but they had
14:13different names for them. And the Romans
14:14knew there were many gods and so to get
14:16an assignment in Judea was a an
14:19assignment that they would rather not
14:20have because not only was monotheism an
14:22oddity, but circumcision was AN ODDITY.
14:26WHAT NATION OF ANY FAITH WOULD do such a
14:29thing and make it have to happen on the
14:32eighth day of [clears throat] a boy's
14:34first days on the earth. That's weird.
14:37That's odd. We like a religion that's
14:39ethereal. We like a religion that is
14:43idealism. We like a a religion that's
14:46myth and words, but but to really change
14:50who I am and what I am and put that mark
14:53on my body. Yes, this was an oddity that
14:56that the people of that day do not
14:59understand. In fact, when you go
15:01throughout Europe and some of you have
15:03done this or you can see on by taking
15:05these a four D is four D a word?
15:09Uh real real high definition is the word
15:11I'm looking for. These these high
15:13definition walking tours during COVID I
15:16found on YouTube walking tours.
15:19And if you want to travel, you don't
15:21have to do anything but turn on YouTube.
15:23And you can go on a walking tour through
15:24or through Turkey and through France and
15:26through Paris and through London. You
15:29just go on a guy apparently has this
15:30amazing HD camera on his head and he
15:33walks through and he says nothing, but
15:35you hear all the sights and the sounds
15:37and I did yesterday. I walked through
15:38Paris and it was amazing. Well, it
15:40wasn't Paris. It was Nice. I think it
15:41was Nice, France and I walked through
15:43France. All there sitting sick as a dog.
15:46Just sitting there waiting and good
15:48night mad at my throat and
15:50my wife's trying to get me to do one
15:52thing and I'm trying to do the other and
15:54I have eaten so much vitamin C, I feel
15:57like a woman right now.
16:02>> [panting]
16:03>> Y'all aren't married to what I'm married
16:04to.
16:05My lord, maybe some of you are.
16:08Good night, I've got vitamin C coming
16:10out my ear and my pores. Every My wife
16:13said she had a whole list of things for
16:15me to do. I love her. She had a whole
16:17list of things for me to do. She's with
16:18Scarlett. They're they're in somewhere
16:20else after women's conference up in
16:22Jacksonville and this process they're
16:24going through.
16:25So, she's giving me this assignment of
16:27things that to do and I'm sitting there
16:29saying, "I'm sick of C."
16:32I want some vitamin D. So, I walked
16:34outside.
16:38I stared at the sun.
16:40That's what men do right here.
16:43I don't know about your C, but I got
16:44vitamin D for David.
16:53I'm sitting there.
16:55And so I walked through Nice, France and
16:56I come across one of these fountains and
16:58I want to tell you something.
17:00I'm glad the children are out right now
17:02because the fountains in France
17:05are not circumcised.
17:13In fact, if you have any any guide
17:15that'll take you and show you the statue
17:17of David that stands in Rome, it's an
17:20amazing work of art, but you can tell it
17:23was a gentile. Once again, the children
17:25are out. I'm sorry for all the online
17:28viewers. Please.
17:29Uh
17:30But if you happen to ever go see David
17:33in Rome, David,
17:37>> [snorts]
17:37>> he was not made by Jew. Okay, let's just
17:39say it like that.
17:41He is very much immodest and he's not
17:44circumcised.
17:46This was a big deal because back then,
17:48you got to understand Rome and Greece
17:50had these amazing huge baths and they
17:52had built them in Jerusalem. And the
17:54thing about the baths,
17:56it was very
17:58expressive of that hour. I shall move on
18:00right now.
18:03But it's an oddity. WILL YOU COME CLOSE
18:05WITH ME AND learn some truth right now?
18:08I'm not playing. I'm trying to get you
18:10in context with that day. I'm trying to
18:12get you to understand the truth of that
18:14hour. While we live in our western
18:16mindset and we try to impute western
18:19idealism on Jesus Christ, HE LIVED IN A
18:22DIFFERENT DAY than us. HE WALKED BY
18:25ROMAN BATHS BUILT IN ROME AT THAT TIME.
18:28THERE'S NO RECORD OF HIM GOING to the
18:30hippodrome, BUT THERE WAS A HIPPODROME.
18:32That's a big OLD CHARIOT RACEWAY RIGHT
18:34OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE WHEN JESUS WAS
18:36WALKING to the temple. There's no record
18:38of him going to the Roman baths, but
18:40nearby was a Roman healing spa, which
18:43was known as the porch the the porch
18:46where the blind man was waiting for the
18:47moving of the water. That place was one
18:50of those Roman spas. We know because of
18:53the numbers of porches that were
18:54mentioned. I'm just bringing you closer
18:56to the reality of the mindset of that
18:59day. So, you got to understand the
19:01Romans going to Judea, it was not their
19:04high highest assignment. It was like us
19:06going to a place like Afghanistan in
19:09their mind. It was not where they wanted
19:11to go. It was a a far away place from
19:13the way they thought. These were a
19:15people that were not only insistent on
19:17circumcision, but they were insistent
19:19that on one day there ought to be a
19:20Sabbath and that they wouldn't hardly do
19:22anything on that day because they
19:24believed it had to be a holy day. They
19:26knew nothing of this in Rome. They knew
19:29nothing of this in Greece. How odd are
19:32these people? Fighting to keep a day
19:35holy. They didn't want to be assigned
19:37there. Tacitus, the Roman senator,
19:40called them perverse and abominable
19:43because they denied the glory of the
19:45gods. Above all, they hated and they
19:48assisted on a separation from the world.
19:52This was a group and a place that when
19:54you went there, they would not acclimate
19:57with the cultures of the surrounding
19:59people. They would not assimilate to be
20:02like the people wherever they went. It's
20:04an odd kind of people. Why they could go
20:07to Russia and still not change. They can
20:09go to China and still not change. They
20:12can go TO GERMANY AND STILL NOT CHANGE.
20:14WHO ARE THESE crazy Judeans who can go
20:18to South America and never change? Who
20:20can go to Australia and never change?
20:23What is it about these people that are
20:25so superstitious that they refuse to
20:28assimilate into the common culture
20:31because of an understanding of a holy
20:33day and a holy God who is all powerful
20:36and almighty? What was all of this
20:39about? It plays an amazing and a dynamic
20:42role in this process of them hanging on
20:45the cross. The Jews were always
20:47presenting supposed Messiahs. These
20:50people had a a common apocalyptic
20:54APPROACH TO LIFE. THEY ALWAYS THOUGHT
20:57maybe somebody's going to come and pull
20:59them out of their present pain. They
21:02always walked AROUND WITH THE FAR AWAY
21:04look in their eye. The Jews would sing
21:06songs like he's COMING BACK AGAIN. THEY
21:10TOLD THAT THIS this this idea of a
21:13Messiah was a sham and it was
21:15continually trying to change the story.
21:19The 6 C 6 of the common area, the sixth
21:22year, Judas of the Galilean had to be
21:25put away. There had to be a riot and a
21:27revolt that was put down just after
21:30Herod the Great's death. Simon of Perea
21:33had to be put down. So, the soldiers had
21:36this angst in them towards anybody that
21:39supposedly was Messiah. To them,
21:41Caesar's Messiah. YOU GUYS GOT TO GET
21:44over it because have you seen our gold?
21:46Have you seen our armies? Have you seen
21:48our strength? Certainly, you think
21:50Jerusalem is something? You don't know
21:52anything until you've been to Rome. And
21:55so, there was economic exploitation and
21:57corrupt politicians and attempted
21:59idolatry. And in fact, the Jews would
22:02rise up every time the Romans tried to
22:04beautify Jerusalem by adding idols to
22:07it it's
22:09the leaders of Rome had come and said,
22:11"You know what? We're going to put these
22:12amazing structures up in your city." And
22:15the revolt happened. In the middle of
22:17the night, Jews would come and knock
22:18over some of the most prestigious
22:21carvings in the granite and marble and
22:23break them apart. These were weird
22:26people. They won't let the
22:27beautification of the city occur. So,
22:30they said, "Well, maybe we'll just put
22:31up animals." And so, on the sides of one
22:34of their arenas, they put all these
22:36forms. And so, there was a great battle
22:38in Jesus' day. Oh, it's not talked about
22:40in the Bible, but it's very much talked
22:42about in history records. This is how we
22:45need to see the cross. WE CAN'T JUST GO
22:48TO IT BY understanding what the word is
22:50telling us about the cross. YOU GOT TO
22:52UNDERSTAND there's a greater dynamic.
22:54Why am I taking the time to tell you
22:55this? I'll tell you why. Because you're
22:57fighting
22:59the same dynamic right now in this
23:02world.
23:03You who choose to praise the Lord. And
23:06you do it vigorously. Huh, you're odd.
23:10Uh you who insist that people have got
23:12to be baptized in the name of Jesus. Why
23:15don't you come off of that? Why don't
23:17you just let people get baptized anyway
23:19they think is acceptable in it all?
23:22Can't you assimilate in the commonality
23:24of you of society? Why can't YOU GUYS
23:27ACCLIMATE? WHAT is it about you that
23:29still say there's a holy God that's
23:32worthy to be praised? That immediately
23:34when you start talking about what you're
23:35going to do, here you guys go saying,
23:38"Lord willing, we'll do that." YOU'RE
23:40GOING ON VACATION. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING
23:42ABOUT, LORD WILLING, I'll go on
23:44vacation? You guys are an odd lot.
23:47You're a weird batch of people. When
23:49that preacher starts talking about in
23:51the name of Jesus go with you and you
23:53lift your hand like that's you. What are
23:56you doing? I'll tell you what you're
23:58doing. You're just like those Judeans to
24:00the Romans. You would not assimilate
24:03because you knew this God story was not
24:06just apocalyptic mysticism. It's not
24:09just some scary story of a horror movie.
24:13It's the truth of the living God. That
24:15there is a God. He's powerful. He's
24:17mighty. And he's real. And he can SAVE
24:21TO THE UTTERMOST them that come to him.
24:25>> [cheering]
24:25[applause]
24:27>> So, when the Romans wrote a sign over
24:31his head that said, "Here is Jesus of
24:35Nazareth,
24:37king
24:38of the Jews."
24:40It was a tongue-in-cheek statement. All
24:43you weird folk,
24:45all you odd apocalyptic people, all of
24:49you who choose to keep days holy and
24:53your holidays
24:55are even holy days. Yeah, you. All of
25:00you guys, he's your king.
25:03The Bible tells us in Matthew and Mark
25:06that both
25:07of the thieves
25:09reviled him.
25:11Both of them
25:12spoke snappy and saucy and and and mean
25:17to Jesus.
25:19Both of the thieves reviled him. It was
25:23only Luke who tells us that there's
25:26something that occurs while they're on
25:29that cross. Something amazing
25:32changes. They're both evil men.
25:36THEY'RE BOTH THOSE WHO revile this man
25:40on the middle cross. But somewhere
25:43something happens
25:45to one of them.
25:48And Luke says
25:49one of them
25:51began to blaspheme him.
25:54Luke says he went further.
25:56He asked the Lord,
25:58"Are you not the Christ?"
26:02The obvious
26:05suggested answer
26:07is that
26:08he is expecting him to say yes.
26:12Because he said,
26:14"Are you not the Christ?
26:17If you are,
26:19why don't you
26:20save yourself
26:24and then maybe get us down to?"
26:27He literally calls the dignity
26:31of Jesus and the purpose of the life of
26:35Jesus into question. As if everything
26:39he's done
26:40is worth sneering at. And the tense of
26:43the verb that Luke uses for the word
26:46blaspheme, it doesn't mean that it's
26:49just a reviling, maybe just one burst of
26:53mean words. It literally has a habitual
26:57tone to it. It literally meant that
26:59there were episodes of blasphemy. THERE
27:02WERE OUTBURSTS. AND MAYBE the pain OF
27:06HANGING HIT THAT one man. And every time
27:09A FRESH PAIN HIT HIM, HE JUST CURSED
27:13Jesus every time it did. I know some
27:16people. Lord, help them. God have mercy
27:19upon them. Every time something bad
27:21happens to them, they are able to
27:23blaspheme Jesus. Every time something
27:26bad happens, it's Jesus Christ this and
27:29Jesus Christ that and Jesus blank and
27:32Christ and Jesus Christ on the cross.
27:36And they THEY THEY CAN'T FIND ENOUGH
27:39WAYS TO BLASPHEME HIM. AND THE OTHER guy
27:43had reviled HIM, TOO.
27:45IT WAS PLAIN. MATTHEW AND MARK SAID BOTH
27:49REVILED HIM.
27:54ONE kept on doing it.
28:03But one said,
28:07"I've had enough."
28:10See,
28:12y'all are all at the Cathedral of
28:14Pentecost this morning.
28:15>> [snorts]
28:16>> I don't know why you're here, but I know
28:17God knows why you're here.
28:20And every one of you
28:22have reviled
28:23the Lord. Oh, let's not say it out loud.
28:27We had fun
28:29with the opening title.
28:32You're [snorts] a sinner.
28:33And you need Jesus.
28:36But every one of us have thoughts that
28:37we have thought.
28:39And sometimes words that we have said.
28:42And many times actions that we have done
28:46that in their doing say,
28:49"Jesus,
28:50whatever you're you are, you're not all
28:53that to me."
28:55"Jesus, whatever others say about you,
28:59you let me down."
29:01"JESUS, WHATEVER THEY SAY AT THAT CHURCH
29:05ABOUT YOU, I'M FED UP WITH YOUR
29:08PROMISES."
29:10AND ALL OF US GET TO A PLACE WHERE
29:12THERE'S words either from our mouth or
29:15from our mind that we would never want
29:18to sign our name to.
29:21As if God can't hear.
29:23As if God can't see.
29:25As if God doesn't know.
29:29LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I'M PREACHING TO
29:30OLD-TIME PENTECOSTALS RIGHT NOW.
29:34THAT [snorts] YOU HAVE GIVEN AND GIVEN
29:35AND GIVEN TO THE LORD and you've been
29:37faithful, faithful, faithful to the
29:39Lord.
29:40AND YOU BUILT ON HOPES OVER AND OVER
29:42again to the Lord. And now you've got a
29:45long valley to walk through. And
29:48sometimes in that valley, you get fed a
29:51line from hell. He's forgotten who you
29:54are. He doesn't know your name. You are
29:57not important to him. AND THERE ARE
30:00TIMES. OH, I'M PREACHING TO SOMEBODY
30:02RIGHT NOW.
30:04THERE ARE TIMES THAT WE LET THAT
30:06[screaming] THOUGHT FLOAT THROUGH OUR
30:08MIND FOR
30:11FOR A MOMENT.
30:18But everybody
30:20comes to a point
30:22where they say,
30:25"I'm following Jesus.
30:28I've had enough
30:30of the doubt.
30:33It'll keep coming,
30:34but I'm not going to keep swallowing it.
30:37>> [snorts]
30:37>> I've had enough
30:39of the belittling of who he is.
30:42He's done enough for me by now
30:44that if he never does
30:47another thing
30:48>> [laughter]
30:50[snorts]
30:50>> If he never
30:52another thing for me,
30:55he's done enough for me
30:58that I'm going to walk in his presence
31:01every day.
31:03And every day when doubt shows up, I'm
31:05going to say,
31:07"Not [snorts] yesterday
31:09and still not today."
31:11I refuse those words.
31:13I refuse the doubt. I refuse the
31:16darkness. I refuse the
31:18story of discouragement. I will not
31:20accept it. And when you praise, it
31:22shows. See, when you first start coming
31:25to the Lord, you still might be a
31:26reviler. You're [snorts] hesitant to
31:28show your praise. You're hesitant to
31:30show others that you know how to pray.
31:31Every one of you know how to pray. I
31:33don't care. I know a lot of people say,
31:35"Well, I don't know how to pray like you
31:36do." No, you you know how to pray. No,
31:38you you'll never know how to pray like I
31:39do. But by the way, ladies and
31:40gentlemen, I'll never know how to pray
31:42like you do.
31:43>> [snorts]
31:43>> You know how to pray. You know how to
31:45answer the phone? You know how to pray.
31:49You know how call 911? You know how to
31:51pray.
31:52You know how to contact the police
31:54department? You know how to pray.
31:57You know HOW TO TALK BACK AT THAT MAD
31:59PERSON who jumped in front of YOU IN THE
32:01RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC AND THREW YOU a nice
32:04salute WHEN THEY DROVE BY.
32:08I'm getting too close pastor. Pastor,
32:10you're getting too close right now.
32:12You know how to pray.
32:14I refuse any voice that says I don't
32:16know how to pray. I'm casting that out
32:18of this room right now. You know how to
32:21pray, but you come to a place in your
32:25LIFE AND YOU START SAYING, I REFUSE TO
32:28ACCEPT THAT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PRAY
32:31ANYMORE. I'M DONE LISTENING TO IT. I'M
32:33FINISHED SAYING THAT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO
32:36WORSHIP. I'M FINISHED LISTENING THAT I
32:38DON'T KNOW HOW TO WORSHIP AND MAGNIFY
32:40HIS NAME. It's over now. Get out of my
32:43way. I've had enough. I've walked with
32:46the non-worshippers LONG ENOUGH. I'VE
32:48WALKED with the mockers of prayer long
32:51enough. I'VE WALKED WITH THOSE WHO ARE
32:53ATHEISTS LONG ENOUGH. I'M GOING TO STAND
32:55IN THE WAY OF THE ONLY WISE God and here
32:59I stand. I follow you, Lord. I stand for
33:02Jesus. I stand for Jesus. I STAND FOR
33:07I STAND FOR JESUS. I AM A CHILD OF THE
33:10KING. FOR I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL
33:15OF JESUS CHRIST. IT IS THE POWER OF GOD
33:19UNTO SALVATION TO THE JEWS
33:23FIRST, BUT ALSO TO ME.
33:26>> [screaming]
33:27>> IT'S ALSO TO YOU. IT'S TO US AND TO OUR
33:30CHILDREN.
33:31They both reviled him.
33:34They both reviled. The musicians come.
33:37>> [sighs and gasps]
33:38>> You know,
33:39here he is.
33:42Of all the people
33:44that got in the line
33:46when John the Baptist was baptizing.
33:49>> [sighs]
33:50>> I know in your mind you may think that
33:52Jesus got a solo baptism.
33:56I know you imagine.
33:57I'm sure or maybe you didn't.
33:59But I did. I have.
34:01Throughout my life I imagined that you
34:02know what?
34:04He's so special.
34:06>> [snorts]
34:06>> He gets baptized all by himself.
34:08But I think more correctly
34:11when John baptized
34:13there were bundles and bunches of people
34:15that came.
34:17And in my
34:19my little mind's eye
34:22I see
34:23the Lord
34:25get at the back of the line.
34:30And as John's baptizing
34:32he's stepping forward.
34:35Maybe he rejoices with one.
34:38And then he steps forward.
34:40Sees those in front of him.
34:42Person behind him kind of jokes. Maybe
34:44when you got baptized there was more
34:46than one getting baptized. You know what
34:47you do when everybody's in the robe?
34:49Kind of turn around and say, it looks
34:50good on you.
34:51Your robe looks better than my robe.
34:53I got baptized. I'll never forget it in
34:561973 and there were three of us that got
34:58baptized that day. I was standing up
35:00there waiting and I was thinking, how am
35:01I going to go down? I had all those
35:02crazy thoughts in my mind and I can
35:04imagine Jesus standing in line and John
35:07is just baptizing. He's just baptizing.
35:11Out of the corner
35:13of his eye
35:15he sees Jesus in the line.
35:19What?
35:21What am I going to say when he gets to
35:23me?
35:24And there's Jesus turning around saying,
35:26you look good.
35:28He's rejoicing with others when they get
35:30baptized.
35:31And finally IT'S JESUS' TIME.
35:34EVERYBODY IN FRONT OF JESUS
35:37AND EVERYBODY BEHIND JESUS
35:40needed
35:42to be baptized.
35:44They all had sin.
35:46THERE WAS ONLY ONE IN that line
35:49who had never said a vile word. Never
35:52thought a profane thought. Never sinned.
35:56Walked spotless as a lamb.
35:58And here he gets down and John, he knows
36:01what he's going to say as he's coming
36:03into the water. He said,
36:05I need
36:06to be baptized of you.
36:09And you come to me.
36:11And Jesus said,
36:13>> [snorts]
36:14>> baptize me, John.
36:16Baptize me.
36:18It fulfill it
36:20all righteousness.
36:22That I am baptized.
36:30Two evil people.
36:35One can't
36:36curse him enough.
36:42The other started cursing him.
36:47He knew what the
36:49Sanhedrin were saying about him.
36:54He knew
36:55that the soldiers had gambled over his
36:58garment.
37:01HE WATCHED
37:03THE CROWD
37:04MOCK HIM.
37:08He saw John there. John hasn't yet been
37:11dismissed.
37:13John's standing there with Mary.
37:18He sees mama
37:20and son.
37:23AND HE'S SAYING WHAT EVERYBODY ELSE IS
37:26SAYING.
37:28He may HAVE EVEN GLANCED TO THE
37:30disciples far away walking in the other
37:32direction.
37:35Comes to a place
37:36where he says, I'm not going to say
37:38what they're saying.
37:40And I'm not going to say what they're
37:41saying.
37:42And I'm not going to say what they're
37:44saying.
37:45And he talks over Jesus
37:48to the guy on the other side.
37:51He said, HEY.
37:54ISN'T IT ENOUGH?
38:01YOU AND I DESERVE WHAT WE'RE GETTING.
38:12THEY GOT IT RIGHT WHEN THEY PUT US UP
38:14HERE.
38:16But this man has done nothing amiss.
38:19Nothing. Nothing.
38:21Nothing.
38:22Nothing wrong.
38:27He said, don't you realize we're all
38:29about to die?
38:31Do you not fear God?
38:37And then he talks to Jesus.
38:44Jesus.
38:45He doesn't call him any fancy name. He
38:47just calls him Jesus.
38:49Maybe he noticed the sign over his head.
38:51It said, Jesus of Nazareth.
38:54King of the Jews.
38:56But when he got it out, he said, Jesus,
39:00remember me.
39:02Oh, he didn't ask for forgiveness. He
39:04didn't ask to be sanctified, justified,
39:06no theological talk. No. No. He didn't
39:09ask to be forgiven.
39:11I think he had already sought for
39:12repentance when he said, we're guilty.
39:15I'm guilty. I'm not offering excuses.
39:17I'm not
39:18offering my social status just because I
39:20was an outcast at school. I'm not coming
39:22because it's what mom and dad did or
39:24it's what America does or it's what my
39:26culture does. If you had have known the
39:28neighborhood I grew up in, you would
39:29understand what I am. If you understood
39:31my my culture, you would know WHY I
39:33SINNED. HE OFFERED NONE OF THAT. HE JUST
39:35SAID,
39:36I know it was me.
39:38Remember me.
39:40And then he went one step further.
39:43When you come
39:44into your kingdom.
39:47He didn't know how far
39:48wherever
39:50how long
39:51that would be.
39:53But Jesus grabbed it.
39:56Pulled himself up.
39:58Looked at him
40:00said,
40:01you don't have to wait a long time for
40:03this change to come.
40:06It starts
40:07this
40:09day.
40:11You shall be with me in paradise. Some
40:12of you think you're so far from God.
40:15You think you're so far from God. Some
40:17of you even that have lived for God a
40:18long time, you're feeling a long ways
40:20from God. [music] You've got us all
40:22believing that it's all all right, but
40:24in your heart it's not. You've been
40:26slowly, slowly letting things go
40:29>> [music]
40:29>> that you never would have ever imagined
40:32let go. And you know how to smile and
40:34you know how to shout and you know how
40:36to carry your Bible. And yet all this
40:38time there's been a gradual goodbye. It
40:41was never goodbye with your lips. IT WAS
40:44JUST GOODBYE WITH YOUR CHOICES.
40:47And God's saying,
40:49uh-uh.
40:50You don't have to say goodbye.
40:52This day
40:54this day
40:56you can enter
40:57into paradise.
40:59Uh, shall we stand?
41:02I I know not
41:03to whom God sent me this day.
41:06But I'm [snorts] telling you
41:07everybody under the sound of my voice
41:10there's a Holy Ghost call to you. You're
41:13all revilers.
41:15You are all sinners.
41:17You all think thoughts you would never
41:19want vocalized. You all entertain ideas
41:24that you hold longer than you wish you
41:26would. Everyone in this place and I'm
41:30telling you
41:31you're not
41:33just a good person
41:35and a bad person.
41:37There was a man
41:38who was a chaplain in the
41:41United States military and when the
41:43Nazis were being tried in World War II
41:45uh
41:46he decided that he would go and I I'll
41:49give you his name. He would go to the
41:51chaplaincy and there he would meet with
41:54the people as they were going to their
41:57period of time that they were going to
41:58be judged. He got to know them. He got
42:01to get close to them. And in this
42:03process uh of of getting close to them
42:06uh he he said, "I'm going to go with
42:08them all the way to the gallows where
42:10they were hanged." But the first time
42:12that he began to uh meet with him, he
42:15prayed with him and he remembered
42:17sitting down when he nailed down his
42:19first time and said, "I can't find his
42:21name, my Lord. I guess I'm not supposed
42:23to ask me later if you want his name."
42:25Uh
42:26he said,
42:27"I knelt down to pray
42:29and I thought,
42:31'I'm praying
42:32with murderers.
42:34I'm praying with butchers.
42:36I'm praying with evil
42:39Nazis
42:40that have killed millions.'
42:43And he said, "Somewhere between when he
42:45started to kneel
42:48and his knees hit the ground,
42:50he said, 'Lord,
42:54I'm praying
42:56with sinners today
42:58and I am a sinner
43:01just like they are.'"
43:04I know we all can feel like we're pretty
43:06good. We're real good at that.
43:08But really when you pray honestly, you
43:11don't come with him with all these
43:12preconditions.
43:14How good you are, how much you know your
43:15Bible. No, no, no. That's not apostolic.
43:18Oh, that's religious. That's
43:19Christianity. That's tradition. That's
43:22pharisaical. It's not the way the
43:24apostles did it. Every time they come to
43:26him, they did not come counting out who
43:29they were before him. Even Jesus told
43:33the sons of James and John, THE MAMA
43:35SAID, "I'M NOT ABLE TO GIVE THEM THE
43:37PRIME SEATS.
43:39THAT'LL BE figured out on the last day
43:42because every day
43:43we've got to come to him and say, "Lord,
43:47I've had enough
43:49of doubt.
43:51I've had enough
43:53of the world.
43:54I will
43:55no longer
43:57accept the words of a reviler.
44:00I now
44:02am going to bring
44:04my petitions
44:05and put them before you.
44:07I'm about to open this altar, but before
44:09we do, I'm going to pray for every one
44:10of you because some of you don't have
44:12the energy
44:13or the strength to come forward.
44:15And I'm asking you by the help of the
44:17Holy Ghost to walk beyond all those
44:20things. Nobody has to know what has gone
44:23in the seat of your thinking and your
44:26mind. But I know the Lord knows and you
44:29can decide today, "I refuse
44:33to accept
44:35anything
44:37that is less
44:38than praise and adoration.
44:41And I'm laying aside every doubt.
44:44I'm putting aside every discouragement.
44:46I have had
44:48enough.
44:49Enough of the world. Enough of the false
44:53church. Enough of pretending saints.
44:56Enough of pretending praying. Enough.
45:00I've had enough. I want to come
45:02and reassert
45:05that I am his.
45:07This day, oh Lord,
45:09remember me.
45:11Remember me.
45:13Remember me.
45:16Forget me not.
45:18>> [laughter]
45:18>> Pass me not, oh
45:21gentle savior.
45:23Hear
45:24my humble cry.
45:26While on others thou art calling,
45:29do
45:31not pass me by. Oh Lord, every man and
45:33woman in the sound of my voice that has
45:35been brought here by supernatural cause,
45:37let the Holy Ghost fire burn in them,
45:39burn around them, burn on them. Purge
45:41[music] away every every doubt and every
45:43fear. Purge away everything that has
45:45reviled [music] you that really they're
45:47not proud of and let them make that move
45:49towards you in this hour and in this day
45:52so that our lives can be purged from
45:55every mark of hell and stain OF
45:58PROFANITY AND STAIN OF DOUBT AND
46:01condemnation for we are going to serve
46:05you all
46:08that we have left
46:10in [snorts] our life.
46:11In Jesus' name. If I preach to you today
46:14and you want to make a move to the Lord,
46:16I'm opening this altar. It is our custom
46:18here. It's not an oddity at this church
46:21that people come to this altar. It's
46:23something we do usually. We do it
46:25common. We don't do it just because
46:27there's some worse than others. We do
46:29it. Some of the oldest saints in this
46:31place are common comers to this altar.
46:34Some of the first time visitors come to
46:35this altar. I know it's not usual in the
46:38church world. I know it takes something
46:40to get used to, but I'm praying you'll
46:42break through every fear and you'll
46:44break through every doubt and every
46:45reason to stop and you'll take that step
46:48so that hell can see, "I'm done [music]
46:50with you. I want the Lord to know I'm
46:53his. I'm finished with all those who are
46:56filled with the discouragement and THE
46:58DOUBT. I KNOW IT'S GOING TO COME AGAIN,
47:00but I'm saying right now, 'Oh God, I'm
47:03choosing you.'"