A changed heart. We've read here
of two thieves, one crucified on either side of the Lord Jesus. The heart of one was changed.
The heart of the other was not. That's plain. A beloved black preacher from
Lexington, Kentucky named DJ Ward. who went to be with the
Lord in 2010, he said this, if God had not chosen some, heaven
would have none. He never said if God had not
chosen everybody, there wouldn't be many. No, what he said was,
if God had not chosen some, heaven would have none. Because there is none that seeketh
after God. There is none that understandeth.
They are all gone out of the way. There is none that doeth
good. No, not one. I feel impressed to preach from
this text probably not less than once a year. Because it is one
of the clearest pictures in all the Bible of how God saves sinners. I know there's lots of fellas
that tell us all about how to save ourselves. They'll tell you that you, a
spiritual corpse are supposed to open your own
heart. and let Jesus in and give him a try. That's how man does
it. God's word tells us how he does
it. He changes the heart and he causes
us to see ourselves hopeless, hopeless. The trouble with modern
day religion is that no one is left to God's mercy alone. There's always something more
you'll be told to do. Well, the truth is the mercy
of God alone is the only hope for characters like you and I. You can't clean up enough, look good enough, smell good
enough, or act good enough to get God to smile on you. No,
sir. He smiles on his son. This is
my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And God will smile on
you in his son or he'll never smile on you at all. You say,
I never heard that. Well, it's time you did. God's
not at our mercy. We're at his. You say, well,
when are you going to get to all the good we can do and everything
that's worthy of to speak up. I'm still looking for it. I'm
still looking for it. We're at God's mercy. End of
story. Now, most people respond to preaching
like they do the doctor. If the report is bad, they say,
I believe I'll go somewhere else for a second opinion. But the truth is God's word will
be the same wherever you go. I mean, you may go somewhere
where they've thrown it out the window. And you won't be so convicted
by it, but God's word is the same. Really not going to help you
to go somewhere where they've thrown God's word out the window
and turned it into a circus to entertain folks. If it's a circus
you want. Ringling brothers, Barnum and
Bailey is the best. Don't waste your time with anything
else. But we come here in all seriousness to open our minds and hearts
best we can to bow to Christ, our savior, the one who loved
us and died for us on the cross and to worship him. Now in this
passage that I've read, we see who God is ruling his creation
in the person of his son on the cross. He's not a victim there. He's very much in control. He
is ruling his creation. And at the same time, he is submitting
his fleshly body to the rebellion of men against him. But he's
no victim hanging there. He's very much in control of
everything and everybody. So I'm going to speak to you
plainly about this passage for a few minutes. And you know,
according to popular opinion, every time somebody dies in their
sins and drops into hell, they've conquered God. That's what they've
done because to hear them tell it, he's done everything in his
power to keep that from happening,
but it happened anyway. So God's the loser. That's just
not so. In other words, hell is a monument
to God's failure. It's just not so. Many believe
that instead of controlling the clock, God is in a race with
the clock, doing as much as he possibly
can for as many as he possibly can before it's everlastingly
too late, is what they say. He's not trying to meet a deadline.
God himself is the deadline. It's over when he says it's over.
no matter what you do or don't do. So it's not in time, it's
in Him. Him who is sovereign in time
and in eternity. Acts 15, 18. You ought to mark
this verse in your Bible. Known unto God are all His works
from the beginning of the world. Acts 15, 18. What does that mean?
That means He hadn't decided on anything since you've been
here. You hadn't talked him into changing his mind about nothing.
Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. He sent his son into the world
to redeem the people that were chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world. He came to save his people from
their sins. Daniel 435, all the inhabitants
of the earth, that's you and me, are reputed as nothing. And he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth. That's you and me. And none can stay his hand or
say unto him, what doest thou? The prophet Nahum chapter one,
verse three, The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the
storm. Psalm 115. Three, but our God
is in the heavens. He had done whatsoever. He had
pleased. This sovereign authority and
rule of God includes our text in every part of it. This morning,
one dying thief is quickened. To believe in Christ, the other
perishes in his sins. Could God not have changed both
hearts? Yes. Was he obligated to change
either heart? No. Was he just in saving one and
damning the other? Absolutely. Neither deserved
God's mercy. So God is not wrong to show mercy
to one of the two. Romans 9.15, I will have mercy
on whom I will have mercy. And I will have compassion on
whom I will have compassion. Romans 9.18, therefore, he hath
mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will, he hardeneth. How does God harden? He just
leaves you alone. You'll take it from there. Romans 9.21, hath not the potter
power over the clay? And of the same lump, not a good
lump and a bad lump, but of the same lump, make one vessel unto
honor and another unto dishonor. I'm giving you scripture on top
of scripture. about who God is. Many people this morning believe
that our condition by nature is not what God says it is. And
all they've heard preached is that you have a free will to
choose either God or the devil. Therefore, your salvation is
in your hands, not God's. I was talking to a lady some
time ago and she saw me reading and she asked me what my sermon
was going to be about. And I told her it was going to
be about the two thieves on the cross. And she said, yeah, one opened
his eyes and saw. And the other one didn't. Well,
dead men don't open their eyes. Dead men don't see. And by nature,
All Adam's race is dead in trespasses and in
sins. But the way she thought, that's
how people think. These men were spiritually dead.
They were spiritually blind. A man must have his eyes opened
by God to be able to see. That woman believed obviously
that both of them had the ability. Neither of them had the ability. She believed that one chose to
accept Christ and one didn't. Now, now, the Bible teaches that
the natural man does not have a free will, but rather is in
bondage to sin and to Satan. Romans 8, 7, the carnal mind,
the natural mind, is in enmity against God, for it is not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 1 Corinthians 2.14, the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them. Romans 3.11, there is none that
understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. John
3.19, And this is the condemnation that light is coming to the world
and men love darkness rather than light. John 5 40, you will not come
to me that you might have life and on and on and on we could
go. But to illustrate the point, here's two men die. One on either
side of the son of God. Both are vile sinners. Both are
thieves. Both are condemned to die. Both
are guilty. Both are dying. Both can see
and feel and hear and speak physically. They're the same in the bondage
of sin and Satan. And the Lord changed one's heart. You say, well, the Lord changed
his heart because he started talking right. No, no. He changed
his heart or he never would have started talking right. At first, they're both negative
toward the Lord Jesus. Matthew's account says they both
mocked him and reviled him. You'd think that two men dying
I mean, these Romans wasn't playing games. They weren't going to
put these men on the cross for two or three hours and say, fun's
over, turn them loose. No, they're dying. They know
they're dying. And you would think that two
men dying, themselves condemned and rightly so, would not be
interested in mocking and reviling someone else, but depraved. by sin, in bondage
to sin and Satan. The natural man has absolutely
no concern for his own spiritual welfare. And there is nothing
any man can do to change that condition. He can't even create in himself
the will to want to change it. I think of this generation that
we live in with no heart for God. And we've seen so much in
our time. We've walked to the graveside with friends to bury grandparents. And then a few years we walked
to the graveside with those same friends to bury parents. And their hearts are still not
changed. We're talking about a God here
that does. What you maybe not only don't
want to do, but what you cannot do. And if you want to change heart,
it's because you have one. Now, next we see that God made
a choice. God made a choice. Because of
these men's sinful condition, their depraved will, they're
perishing. They can't even desire anything
else. They're mocking the son of God, but God changes one's
heart and not the other. The Bible does not say that one
of them grew up in a Christian home and the other didn't. Don't
say that both of them have godly upbringing or that neither of
them have godly upbringing. Don't say anything about that.
Doesn't say one of them went to a Christian school and the
other didn't. No, don't say anything like that. Doesn't say one went
to church. or both went to church or neither
of them went to church. Don't say any of that. None of
that is in the picture. Meaning that God himself, apart
from any conditions on man's part, apart from any foreseen
faith in man, God unconditionally of his own good pleasure chose
to change one man's heart. And so is the story of God's
elect people. God unconditionally, of his own
good pleasure, chose to redeem from Adam's fallen race an elect
number, not one more, not one less. And he made this selection
before he made the world. and he purposed to send his son
into the world in due time to die for them. A lot of people
think Jesus came into the world, think God had to go to plan B,
you know. He just had to somehow devise
a remedy. Oh, no. God had the remedy before
we ever had the problem. He's a lamb slain in the mind
and purpose of God from the foundation of the world. He came to die
for them and did die for them. God never chose his people depending
on our cooperation. No, he chose his people with
a design to melt the hard heart and bring about our cooperation.
That's who God is. And if he don't do that, you'll
perish in your sin in spite of all you can do. But our hearts have been changed.
Thank God. And that's our thought this morning.
A changed heart. Our conduct has changed, yes,
somewhat, not like it ought to. But you see, that's backwards.
Our conduct does not change our heart. Our heart changes our
conduct. And without a heart change, you
can turn over a new leaf every week. It'll never work. The issue is the heart, God's
work in the heart. All right, quickly, I want to
consider four thoughts about this one thief who had his heart
changed. You ask yourself the question,
has my heart been changed? Now at first, his was a perishing
heart. We read, we mentioned already
from Matthew's account that in the beginning, both of these
fellas, were mocking the Lord. They were just alike. They were
thieves alike. They thought alike. They spoke
alike. They were equally critical of
and mocking the Lord Jesus. Both had an unclean heart. Job asked the question, who can
bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one. Neither of these men could change
their unclean hearts. Both had an unbelieving heart. Somebody says to him, this one
on the middle cross is the son of God. One says, I don't believe
that. The other says, I don't believe
it either. And they both go on mocking. That's how it went. Both were firm unbelievers. Both
were in the same boat. Both were perishing in that condition. So for a time, even the one thief
who was saved in the end, for a time, he had a perishing heart. Until God changes the heart,
that's what all men have is a perishing heart. And left to himself, he would
have perished like the other one. He could do no otherwise,
a perishing heart. But the next stage in the story
is this. Number two, we see his heart
changed from a perishing heart to a persuaded heart. Now this one starts defending
the Lord Jesus. And up to this point, the Lord
Jesus had spoken just once. All this thief had heard him
say was, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. God changed this man's heart.
Instead of the Lord Jesus having a bitter attitude and speaking
words of hatred, Toward all around, no, he says, Father, forgive. And this thief perhaps thought,
no man can do that unless he be more than a man. Who on earth would forgive people?
And then crucified him. And this thief's heart is changed.
He's persuaded. He's persuaded that he should,
rather than mock the Lord Jesus, appeal to him for mercy. So he
begins to defend and speak for the Lord Jesus rather than against
him. And he asked that other thief, does thou not fear God? Does thou not fear God? Seeing thou art in the same condemnation? It is truly a miracle when God
changes a heart, a wicked heart to a worshiping heart, a perishing
heart to a persuaded heart. And that brings me to the third
thing, a praying heart. He is so convinced. He is so
persuaded. He is not bashful and he is not
backward to speak out to the Lord Jesus. He's done cut this
other guy off. I don't care what else he says.
He now speaks to the Lord Jesus. And it's no time to be bashful
when you're dying. So he said, verse 42, Lord. I
wonder why he called him Lord. Remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. How did he know Christ had a
kingdom he was entering into? How did he know all this? Persuaded
heart, persuaded by God. There wasn't anybody else there
preaching how wonderful Christ was. Oh, no. There wasn't anybody
walked up the cross and handed this guy a tract and said, believe
on Jesus. Oh, no, no, no, none of that.
This come from God. That's the only way it does come.
Called him Lord. He's so persuaded. He's so convinced. He makes this plea. Remember
me. Lord, remember me. Oh, he forgot to ask for a mansion
just over the hilltop. And he forgot to ask for a robe
and a crown. He just asked the Lord for this.
Remember me, if there's any way, if there's a place for me in
your kingdom, I want to be there. Remember me. I'm telling you folks, when you're
dying, Material things won't matter. And we're all dying. It's just,
Lord, remember me. He didn't deserve to be remembered.
Neither do you. But he's not asking because he
deserved it. He's asking, believing that Christ is the son of God. and that he can have mercy on
whom he will. And this man, please have mercy
on me, Lord, remember me. That's all any of us can do. And the fourth thing, we see
a peaceful heart. The words of Christ in response
to his prayer gave him peace. Verse 43, and Jesus said unto
him, Verily I say unto thee, Today, shalt thou be with me
in paradise." He began this statement with the absolute truth of what
he's about to say. Verily, I say unto you, verily
means surely, truly. You can count on it, bud. Verily I say unto thee, then the nearness of it, today,
today. We'll see about that somewhere
on down the road. If you've got enough people to
pray you out of purgatory. No, none of that junk. Lord, remember me. And Jesus
said, today, today. Then the certainty of it. Today
shalt thou be. He didn't say, I'll think about
it or maybe, but certainly it's a done deal. And then the comfort
of it. Today shalt thou be with me,
with me. That's where all dying saints
want to be in that very day. And this may be the day is with
Christ. And then there's the blessed
bliss of it in paradise today. Shall that be with me in paradise? People often speak of the garden
of Eden as paradise, but not. So the garden of Eden is where
men fall and are expelled from it. and
can't go back. But to be in paradise with Christ
is to be in Christ where men can't fall. Not just don't fall, but can't
fall and can never be expelled from him like Adam was from the
garden. All this story took place in
a few minutes. while this man was dying. It was a precious
thing, but it's equally precious if it takes place over the course
of 50 or 60 years in your life and mine. Many of us this morning have
been asking for a long, long time, Lord, remember me, have
mercy on me. What about you? This story should
teach us to quit trying to qualify ourselves and say, well, I did
this good thing. That ought to count for something. And I didn't commit this sin
or that sin. That should be in my favor. No,
forget about you. You hadn't done enough good to waste your breath to speak
of. Forget about you and look to Christ alone. He's the sinless
one. And that's what God requires. Lord, remember me. Even if you or I lived our entire
lifetime and committed less than a half a dozen sins in our entire
lifetime, how foolish would it be to face God with that half
a dozen? Instead of clinging to Christ
who knew no sin, the one of whom he said, I'm pleased with him.
You come in him or you don't come at all. So here's the peaceful heart
after Christ's words. This man has a peaceful heart
and it is evidenced by the fact that he don't speak again. Today shalt thou be with me in
paradise. The man says nothing else. When Christ has spoken peace
to your heart, it's enough. He's not lying to the man and
he knows he's not lying to him. Some of you read God's word and
think he's lying about it. No, he's not lying to you. It
is what it is. When he speaks peace, there's
no need to plead any further. So the man is silent. I believe
he spent the remaining time, probably three hours or so in
silence, worshiping the Lord Jesus. Silence in its place is
far more precious than words. Words might mess it up. Silence is the order. But when
he breathes his last breath, he's with the Lord forever. This thief was not invited by
men to trust Christ, but he did. He was not taught by men to pray,
but he did. He's not approved of men as having
everlasting life, but he has it. I'm sure the crowd thought both
of them breathed their last and dropped into hell, but one of
them didn't. One of them didn't. God, and
it behooves us all this morning to seek Christ for ourselves.
For forgiveness and acceptance. As this man did. Many of us were raised from our
youth. To seek the Lord. With all our heart and for those
who have not done it, I would say to you this speaks no comfort
to you. This condemns you. Because Christ receives sinners. This man was dying. It was his
last day. You and I are dying. And every
day is our last day, so far as we know. You can assume you'll
be here tomorrow if you want to. Pretty foolish assumption. So may this sinner's plea be
your plea this morning. Lord, remember me. Stand together.