Jesus, With Sinners
Pastor David T. Elms Preached on 4/26/2026
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47:05
Summary
Pastor David T. Elms explores the powerful exchange between Jesus and the two thieves on Calvary, challenging listeners to move past the role of a 'reviler' and find immediate grace through humble repentance.
Key points
- •The famous astronomer Copernicus chose a humble epitaph, asking only for the mercy Jesus gave to the thief on the cross, demonstrating that even the most accomplished must come to God as a sinner.
- •Crucifixion was a Roman punishment for violent 'evildoers' (malefactors) or those guilty of sedition; Jesus was intentionally placed between two such men as a mark of shame.
- •Every person starts as a 'reviler' of God through their sins or doubts, but we must reach a turning point where we refuse to entertain those thoughts and instead cry out for mercy.
- •The dying thief did not use complex theology or offer excuses based on his upbringing; he simply acknowledged his guilt and asked to be remembered by Jesus.
- •Paradise and spiritual transformation do not require a long waiting period; they begin 'this day' when a sincere heart turns away from doubt and toward Christ.
Scripture
Character
Grace
Repentance
Salvation
Life application
Identify one recurring doubt or discouragement that acts as a 'reviler' in your mind; this week, consciously replace that thought with the thief's prayer, 'Jesus, remember me,' and choose an act of praise instead of silence.
Reflection questions
- Why do we often find it difficult to admit we are just as much in need of mercy as 'violent evildoers'?
- The speaker notes that Jesus stood in the same baptismal line as sinners; how does this view of Jesus' proximity to sin change your comfort level in approaching Him?
- What are the 'Roman baths' or cultural idols of our modern world that we, like the ancient Jews, are called to remain separate from?
- In what ways have you experienced a 'gradual goodbye' to God through your choices rather than your words?
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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.'"