Well, let me first say what an
honor and privilege it is to be here. Oh, no, that's fine. Yeah, that's
fine. I'm used to that. Don, thank you for those words.
And Mike, thank you for presenting that song. I told Mike a couple
weeks ago in Kingsport that he doesn't just sing a song, he
presents a song. There's a difference. Beautiful.
Thank you so much. Greetings from the saints in
Madisonville. And as I said, it's an honor
to be with you tonight. I remember Pastor Fortner making
this statement in a message one time. I take it for my own tonight. He said, I am a nobody trying
to tell everybody about somebody. that can save anybody. I like
that. That very well describes me and
what I desire to do. I'm a nobody. I'm just a sinner,
nothing at all, a sinner saved by the grace and mercy of God. A servant, yes, but an unprofitable
servant at best. For if I do all those things
which are commanded of me, I only do that which was my duty to
do." I'm desperately endeavoring in
the time that God gives me here on earth to tell everybody, everybody
who will give me an ear about somebody, a real somebody. You see, this morning, Got up
as my normal practice is and had coffee and turned on the
news. And I heard a news reporter,
and I thought to myself for a moment, in a sense, that's what preachers
are. We're news reporters. The difference is we've got good
news. We've got good news. I've got good news for you and
all who will give me an ear. And when I sit down, we've got
another anchorman coming, and he's going to get up and report
to you the same good news. We call it the Gospel. And we put that word the in front
of it to distinguish it because there's only one Gospel. And
that's the good news that we preach. It's the Gospel. And if God enabled me and Brother
Fortner tonight, we're going to report to you a story about
a real somebody. He's somebody because of who
He is. He's somebody because of what He's done. This somebody
is God, and yet, at the same time, a man. I don't understand
that, and I know none of you do, but it's the truth. There's
never been, nor will there ever be, another one like Him. All
God as if He was not a man and all man as if He was not God. Not half man and not half God.
All man and all God. And I desire more than anything
in this life. I'm telling you, I do. I desire for everybody I know
and everybody that I don't know to know this God-man. He's somebody. I'm nobody, but He's somebody.
And this somebody, the Lord Jesus Christ, very God of very God,
He took on flesh and blood. It's another thing I don't understand.
But He did. He took on flesh and blood, and
He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, yet without sin. And He can save anybody. He's
mighty to save and He can save anybody. He can save anybody
He desires to save. And He can save anybody who desires
to be saved. He can save the worst of the
worst. As a matter of fact, He came into the world to do just
that. That's what the Apostle Paul told young Timothy. You
know the passage well. This is a faithful saying. It's
worthy of all acceptation. That Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners. And Paul said, of whom I am chief.
I'm so glad he added that. My chief of sinners. And I suppose one of the biggest
obstacles today in preaching the gospel, the good news for
sinners, is finding sinners. Men and women by nature do not
see themselves to be sinners. Therefore, they do not need or
desire a Savior. Men and women don't know that
they're sick. And they have no need of the
great physician. Most folks in the world today
are getting along just fine. Getting along just fine on their
own. But occasionally, occasionally there are men and women who see
themselves as great sinners and they have a difficult time in
believing that Christ would die for such a one as they are. I've
had men say, how could God save such a one as I? Preacher, you
don't know what I am. You don't know what I've done.
You're right, I don't. But God does. God does. And this holy
book declares that He came to save even the chief of sinners. That's good news. That's good
news. What a sufficient Savior. He's
mighty to save. I don't suppose there's a greater
example of Christ's power and willingness to save than in the
story I'll be reporting to you tonight. So if you would turn
with me to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 27. Matthew chapter 27. Let's begin reading in verse
35. And they crucified Him. and parted
his garments, casting lots that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the prophet. They parted my garments among
them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down
they watched him there, and set up over his head his accusation
written, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. two thieves crucified with Him,
one on the right hand and another on the left. And all and they
that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou
that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save
Thyself. If Thou be the Son of God, come
down from the cross. And likewise all the chief priests
mocking Him with the scribes and the elders said, He 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.
He trusted in God, let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him. For He said, I am the Son of
God. And the thieves also which were
crucified with Him cast the same in His teeth." Very few times
did the chief priests, the scribes, elders and Pharisees make a true
assessment of the Lord Jesus Christ. But they did here in
verse 42. The statement that they made was meant to degrade,
mock, ridicule, but they spoke the truth. They spoke the truth
concerning our Lord, even though they meant it in a most blasphemous
way. He saved others. Himself. he cannot save." That was a true
statement. He most certainly had saved others,
but himself he could not save. You see, in order for him to
save others, he himself must die. That's the only possible
way for God to be both just and justifier. This was the only
way possible for God in holy justice to put away the sins
of His chosen Someone, somebody has to die for God's justice
to be satisfied. Verse 42, if he be the king of
Israel, let him now come down from the cross and we will believe
him. Now this was something that Christ as God could have easily
done. But at the same time, it was
something that was impossible for him to do. Impossible because
he must die on that cross. He must die on that cross to
save his people from their sins. Do you remember when our Lord
prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane? He said, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but
as thou wilt. But it was not possible. It was
not possible for his cup to pass and his people be saved. For
he must drink it dry. Now notice in verse 43 that they
continue to revile him saying he trusted in God. Let him deliver
him now if he will have him. If he will have him. For he said,
I am the Son of God. Now hear me well, friends. The
Father infinitely loves the Son. But God would not have him and
still have us. He wouldn't have him and still
have us. Not if his strict justice was
to be satisfied. God pursued God. What finite
mind can fathom such a thing as that? God the Father turned
His back on God the Son in order that chosen sinners might be
made the righteousness of God in Him. God would have him. He loved him infinitely before
the worlds were ever made. Throughout eternity passed. So
one grew up with him. Always his delight. But not if
the worst of the worst. Not if nobodies like you and
I would be saved. And here we have the chief elders,
the so-called somebodies of religion. The scribes, the very ones who
knew the Old Testament law and the Scriptures backwards and
forwards, they sat down, mocked, ridiculed, and made fun of God
as He died for the sins of His people. Can you see? Pulled up
chairs to mock, ridicule, and criticize
God. And they weren't the only ones.
Verse 39 tells us that all they that pass by did the same. And
notice that they wag their heads. Have you ever really noticed
that? I got to thinking about it. I can just see them shaking
their heads. Can't you? They're shaking their
heads from side to side in disgust as men often do when they're
sickened and repulsed by others. Then verse 44 tells us the thieves
also. which were crucified with Him,
cast the same in His teeth." That's amazing. That is amazing
to me. The two men who deserved to die,
who deserved to die, who deserved to be crucified, they also mocked,
ridiculed, and joined in saying the exact same things. Now, if you would turn over to
the Gospel of Luke chapter 23 with me. Luke chapter 23. Look at verse
39. Luke 23, 39. In Luke's account,
something gloriously happened to one of these wicked men. We're
told that something glorious happened. Verse 39, it says,
one of the male factors which were hanged, railed on him, saying,
If thou be the Christ, save thyself and us. But the other, Answering,
rebuked him, saying, Does not thou fear God, seeing thou art
in the same condition? And we indeed justly, for we
receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done
nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said
unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today, today, shalt thou be with
me in paradise. Now can any man's case seem so
hopeless? Could any man's case seem so
desperate as these two things? Can you see them there? They
were wicked men. The Scripture says A male factor,
a criminal, a wrongdoer, a repeat offender, a felon, a lawbreaker,
a villain, a menace to society. Men that you rest more comfortably
at night knowing they're locked up. That's the kind of men these
were. And it's most probable that they were murderers. Biblical
history tells us for only such like that were crucified on a
cross. And these men seemed determined
to die the same way as they'd lived, in rebellion. There they hung, nailed to a
cross, from which they would never come down from alive. Their hours were numbered. Their
graves had already been prepared for them. And their souls hang
over the brink of hell. But notice that one of the thieves
ceased to rail in blaspheme as he had first done. He began to
speak in another manner altogether. He heard something. He saw something. No, he saw someone, didn't he?
He saw someone. His ridicule turned from the
Lord Jesus Christ His companion that hung on the other side of
the Lord. And he says, dost thou not fear
God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? He says, you and
I are here indeed justly. We deserve to be here. This is
what we deserve. But this man, he's done nothing
wrong. Nothing wrong. This dying thief
turned to our blessed Lord in prayer. He begged the Lord Jesus
to remember him. Lord, remember me. Remember me
in grace and mercy in the world to come. Now, many would ask
what made him to differ. The correct question is who made
him to differ. Who made him to differ? Well, who made you to differ? Who made
me to differ? Who makes any to differ? God
does. God does. Did He have to? No.
Did we deserve grace and mercy? No. Now, this is what I want
you to consider tonight. I want you to consider, and I
must ask you this question. Was this man too great a sinner
to be forgiven? Some would have said, yes, he
was too great and it was too late. The door was shut. There's
no room for mercy for him. But it proved not to be too late
at all. It proved not to be too late
at all. And the Lord Jesus gives him an immediate answer. He didn't
say, well, now I tell you what, you straighten up, fly right,
get your life straight. Wasn't any time for that. Wasn't
any time for that. No, no. Without hesitation, he
spoke kindly to him. He assured him that he would
be with him that very day in paradise. He'd be pardoned completely from
all his sins. Justified freely. I like that
word, don't you? Freely. What a blessed word. That's a
word that gets my attention. Everybody likes something that's
free, don't they? This wretched sinner was justified
freely. It was too late for him to do
a work of righteousness. Not by works of righteousness
that we've done. No, no, that's not how. As long
as he can take a breath, as long as his heart still beats, it's
not too late for mercy and grace. Not too late. It wasn't too late
to look. It wasn't too late to believe.
It wasn't too late to trust. Today, thou shalt be with me
in paradise. What glorious assurance! Today. Today. His blessed and
immediate assurance was found not only in what was said to
him, but who said it? He heard something now. He saw
something. And you can search the whole
Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you won't find none who had
such words spoken to them as these. The Lord Jesus never gave
so complete a proof of His power and His willingness to save as
He did on the occasion to this chief of sinners. In the hour
that our Lord was at His weakest as a man, now hear me, He was
at His strongest as God. His body was wracked with pain.
He'd been beaten to where He was unrecognizable as a man.
His spirit broken. And yet He shows Himself to be
the strongest Deliverer. He showed that He could tenderly
care and save others though He could not save Himself. He Himself was dying as a man. God had the power to give life
to the dying nevertheless. So let me ask you, do I have
the right to report to you in light of these things? that Christ
is able to save to the uttermost all them that come to God by
Him. We've got the truth of it right
here. If there ever was a sinner who had gone too far to be saved, it was this thief.
Now, I know that reporters don't offer their personal views concerning
the news. But would I be out of line to
report to you tonight that Christ will receive any poor sinner
who comes to Him with a prayer of faith like this? Would I be
out of line to tell you that? Don't we find proof of that here?
If ever there was one that seemed too bad to be received, was it
not this man? Yet the door of mercy was opened
wide for even him. Should this nobody not tell everybody
who will hear that by grace you may be saved through faith? And
it's not of works. Isn't that proven here? Well,
most certainly it is. This thief was never baptized,
was he? He didn't belong to a church.
He never received the Lord's table. Why do people think that
that somehow merits favor with God. He never did any work for
Christ. He never gave money to the cause
of Christ. And the amazing thing to me is,
and I declare to you who are lost, that the youngest faith
will save a man's soul. And here's the proof of it. This
man's faith was at best only a few hours old. Maybe just a
few minutes. I don't know. I don't know how
much time transpired here. But it led him to Christ. And
it delivered him from hell. Why then should any man, any
woman despair with such a passage of Scripture in the Bible? is the physician who can cure
hopeless cases. Only He can quicken dead souls
and call the things which be not as though they were. I'm a nobody. Your pastor will
tell you the same thing about himself. We're nobody, but we
want to declare to everybody that will give us an ear that
Jesus Christ is your only assurance of redemption. And His redemption
is free. It's free. Though it costs Him
His very life. It's free to anybody. It's free
to anybody who sees their need and desires their sin debt to
be paid. It's not too late. It's not too late. Death may be lingering right
around the corner for any of us. No promise of tomorrow. No promise of the next hour. Right now,
the Lord Jesus Christ still provides this glorious grace and mercy,
the same that He did to this man over 2,000 plus years ago. Right now. Right now. The question is, Do you need His mercy? Do you
need His grace? Two lessons, I believe, for us
to learn here, and I'll wrap this up. The first lesson we've
already seen. Jesus Christ is mighty to save.
He's mighty to save the worst of the worst. He's mighty to
save those who cannot help themselves. But there's another lesson here.
A very important lesson. The second lesson is that some
are saved even in the very hour of death. Others are not. That's a truth that will never,
never be passed over. And I don't dare to leave it
unnoticed tonight. It's a truth that stands out plainly in the
sad end of the other thing. A fact that's too often forgotten. What became of the other fellow? Why didn't he turn from this
sin? Why didn't he call upon the Lord?
Why did he remain hardened with no conviction? Was he worse than
the other one? Nothing to prove it. Both were
receiving the due reward of their deeds. Both hung by the side
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Both heard Him pray for those
that had hung Him on the cross. Father, forgive them. They know
not what they do. Both heard Him pray. Both saw
Him suffer patiently. One repented. And the other didn't. One began to pray. The other
just kept on railing. One was converted. The other
died as he had lived without Christ. One was taken to paradise. The
other went to a place called hell. I see many day in and day out
that ought to repent, but always seem to put it off. I believe the reason is that
most men suppose that they can turn to God just whenever they
like. But let us not consider only
the thief that was saved, but also the one that was lost. I think about Saul and David.
They lived about the same time. They rose from the same rank
in life. They were called to the same
position as king. They enjoyed the ministry of
the same prophet Samuel. They reigned the same number
of years, yet one was saved and the other was lost. Who made
the difference? I think about Peter and Judas.
Both were called by Christ as apostles. Both walked and talked
with the Lord Jesus daily. Both heard His words and saw
His miracles. Both betrayed His love. But one
was saved and the other was lost. You look at the world around
you. How many times do we see two
of the same family? We often attend the same church,
attend the same ministry, hear the same sermons, hear the same
messages, the same gospel truth, and yet one is converted while
the other remains totally unmoved. I don't pretend to understand
or explain these things. I just put them before you as
great facts. I'm just reporting this to you.
And I ask you to consider them, though. I report these things tonight
to you that God might bring you to Christ. Well, He may yet be
found. Oh, don't abuse God's long-suffering. Don't abuse His mercy and compassion. Don't continue in your sin. Don't
think that you can repent, believe, and be saved just whenever you'd
like. No promise. No promise of tomorrow. The door's still open. Right
now. You're still breathing. Your
heart's still beating. It would be wise not to put anything
off that concerns your soul. Today, if you will hear His voice. Today. Not tomorrow. Today. If you'll hear His voice,
harden not your hearts. Don't harden your hearts. So will you hear this voice that
cries out to those who are lost? Oh, I wish everybody would. I
do. I wish everybody would give an
ear to this wonderful, wonderful news we call the Gospel. And I cry unto you to tell you
about one who is somebody. He is somebody. There's none
like Him. He's merciful and He delights
to show mercy. He is somebody who will save
anybody who deserves to be saved. You know, I think sometimes men
get the idea that because we believe in the sovereign grace
of God and we believe in election, that somehow people think that
God somehow delights to send men to hell. That couldn't be
further from the truth. It couldn't be further from the
truth. Why do people think that? We don't believe that. No, He's
merciful. He's long-suffering. He is the way. He is the truth. The question is will you trust
Him? Will you bow to Him? Are you miserable? Are you laboring
and heavy laden over your sin? Come into the ark. Come into
the ark of safety. The door is still open. But God
will soon shut the door and pour out His rain of wrath. Kiss the
Son. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry. If you don't, you'll perish.
If you don't kiss the Son, you're going to perish. Will you come
to Him now before it's too late? If God will enable you to come,
blessed you will be, for blessed are they that put their trust
in Him. Do you trust Him? If you don't,
I pray that you will right now. Right now. Okay, Brother Frank. Thank you.