"Building a Church Through Outreach"
Everyday Deserves a Chance
Part 2
ELCOG 7/15/07
(Taken from Max Lucado’s Book "Every Day Deserves a Chance")
Text: Luke 23:43
So you messed up yesterday. You said the wrong words, you took the wrong turn, loved the wrong person, reacted the wrong way. Maybe you spoke when you should have listened. You judged when you should have trusted. Simply put, you messed up yesterday. Believe it or not, you will mess up again. But your mess ups will be even bigger if you allow yesterday’s mistakes to sabotage today’s attitude.
I know that lightening strikes our lives often. We need a great shower daily in order to keep from us from being combustible. You have lightening strikes of regret that will consume you. We need the down pours of God’s grace to keep us safe in the storm. We need more than a shower once a year, or once a month. Even a small weekly shower will leave us still dry and combustible. We need a solid soaking every day. We need his spirit to rain in our lives everyday, not just on church days to keep us safe from the lightening strikes of life.
Lam. 3:22
22It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
Lam. 3:23
23They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Do you realize the reason we are not destroyed by our daily problems is because of the mercy of Christ. We are not destroyed because His compassion never fails us. His mercy and His compassion are new every morning. So, if yesterday was a day of mistakes and if yesterday was loaded with problems and attitudes, be grateful because today is a new day and His mercy wasn’t used up yesterday, but its new today.
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Back to our text.
Think about the thief on the cross. He has been in a prison cell: Dirt floors, Dark even at noon. Rats scurrying around through the corner holes. He hears a guard shouting at him to get up that his time has come.
Then he sees faces lining a path to his destination. Men spit in disgust. Women turn at the sight. A soldier pushes him down and forces a beam across his soldiers. He is held in place as a nail is pierced through his hands and feet. Pain burns through his entire body as the cross is placed in the ground. Every fiber is on fire with the pain of his punishment.
The thief hears groans, his own death groans. No pleasant sounds to the man on cross. Everything seems to be dark. All hope is gone. Death is soon to cover him up.
It is at this moment that he hears a weak voice from the other cross that says…
Luke 23:34
34Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
All of a sudden things seem to change. For the first time in a long time the thief hears hope. He hears the sound of compassion.
It’s Jesus praying on a cross next to him. It is Jesus’ voice that breaks the silence of the men on the cross.
At the first sound of this prayer the other men on the cross begin to mock Jesus. He could save others, but he can’t save himself. If you are really the Christ call your angles to get us down from hear.
Matt. 27:42
42He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
Matt. 27:43
43He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
But Jesus never retaliates. Then the thief sees, for the first time that day, kindness and patience.
The thief drops his head in shame, because he realizes that the man next to him is the Christ. The thief realizes that he is close to heaven or at least a part of heaven. At this time the thief utters this remark and this request…
Luke 23:41
41And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
Luke 23:42
42And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
Then the thief hears this response from the man in the middle…
Luke 23:43
43And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
The bad day of the bad man is met with the gracious gift of God that is full of mercy.
He sees a son entrust his mother to a friend and honor a friend with his mother. He sees the God who wrote the book on Grace. He sees the God that coaxed Adam and Eve out of the bushes, murderous Moses out of the desert. The God who made a place for David, even though he made a move on Bathsheba. The God who didn’t give up on Elijah, though Elijah gave up on God.
He hears what the fugitive Moses hears in the desert, depressed Elijah heard in the Desert, adulterous David heard after Bathsheba. He hears what…
A fickle Peter heard after the rooster crowed,
The storm-tossed disciples heard after the wind stopped,
The cheating woman heard after the men left,
The hardheaded and hard-hearted Saul would hear after the light
shone,
The paralytic heard when his friends lowered him through the roof,
The blind man heard when Jesus found him on the street,
The disciples would soon hear from Jesus on the beach early one
morning.
He hears the language of grace. "Today you will join me in paradise" Grace cleared its throat and spoke loudly. Come home with me.
Today the man who was charged with death because of his crime is going to spend the night with Christ in paradise. The thief deserved his punishment. He deserved the cross. He did the crime, but tonight he experienced grace. He is not taken to heaven on the second class bus, but he walks on the red carpet and is received as a son of God.
Perhaps you need to hear the same voice the thief heard. Father, forgive them for what they do. Maybe you need to hear the voice that says, "Come on home with me"
Yesterdays mistakes play the role of the Roman death squad: they escort you up the hill to crucify you. Faces of the past line the street and voices declare you guilty:
You neglected your father and me!
You let the habit rob your youth
You promised you’d come home
You told me that you would stop.
GUILTY! You are nailed to the cross of your past mistakes, but Jesus turns from your accusers and says, "My grace is sufficient for you; my strength is strong enough for you."
Today is the day the lord has made. Yesterday you were strung out on drugs, but today you have the chance to come to an altar and be delivered. Today has the ability to be life changing.
When others nail you to the cross, Jesus makes a miracle out of it. The past condemns you to the cross, but Jesus offers you paradise.
It’s true, we do deserve this punishment, but Jesus has a different plan.
Today you will be with me in paradise.
Jesus is calling you tonight. What keeps holding you back? What keeps you nailed to a cross of shame? What keeps pushing you backward every time you try to step forward? Jesus has the ability to take your shame away.
Let me close tonight with the story of the ten lepers.
Luke 17:11
11And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
Luke 17:12
12And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
Luke 17:13
13And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
Luke 17:14
14And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
Luke 17:15
15And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
Luke 17:16
16And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
Luke 17:17
17And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
Luke 17:18
18There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
These men were outcast. They have been banned from the city, but they met a man with great compassion; a man full of mercy. Everyone else would run from the lepers, but Jesus walks to them.
He does the same for you. Some of you have spiritual leprosy. You are spotted and mangled because of your past sins and habits, but Jesus seeks you out. He will touch your life when everyone else runs from you. No one else can help, but Jesus can. Jesus cleans you because his grace is able.
Notice, only one returned to praise him. Ten were healed, but only one came back to say thanks. What about you? Jesus noticed the one grateful leper. Your gratefulness takes your eyes off of you and returns them to Jesus.
Have you forgotten to return to the man that healed you? Have you run to your family and to your friends, but you forgot to run back to God to say thanks.
Tonight, let me encourage you to say thanks; to worship and praise the man that that takes you off the cross of your past guilt. Worship the God who heals your sin. Worship the God that delivers you from your past. He is calling you today to come be apart of his paradise.