"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT HEAVEN"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT HEAVEN"

Luke 23:41 “And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”

Luke 23:42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

Luke 23:43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Some explanatory notes, and application:

1. The thief speaking in Luke 23:41, was acknowledging the rightness of the capital punishment he was receiving. He is a picture of a sinner, simply admitting he is a sinner, which of course is not only the work of the Holy Spirit convicting a person, bringing them to their senses, but, it's also the first step to being saved. Admitting I'm a sinner. 

2. The thief, also realized something about Jesus, that happens to all people who become saved and go to heaven. The Holy Spirit convinces them, reveals to them, shows them much about Jesus Christ, primarily that He is righteous, holy, perfect if you will. Jesus is without sin. He was always without sin, (except that He became sin for us on the cross) and He is without sin as we read this devotional.

3. The thief, then made a request to Jesus. He talked to Jesus. He prayed if you will. Here's what his prayer consisted of. "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom" In other words, he was asking Christ to have mercy on him. And, you will notice something else. In mentioning "Your Kingdom" it's clear that the Holy Spirit had also revealed to him, that Jesus was indeed the King of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Heaven. He understood something about the after life as it were. 

4. The Lord speaks in 23:43 and says to this man condemned to death, " Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. This word, which of course was speaking ultimately of heaven, was a word in that day used to speak of grand enclosure, preserve, a park, a shady, and well watered one. A beautiful garden, a pleasure ground. 

5. Please notice a few things the Lord said to the man. Assuredly, or truly, or faithful, or so be it. It's similar to our saying, "amen", meaning, so be it. So, Jesus was saying, "amen" to the man, or yes, I will remember you. Or yes, I will save you etc. And, the Lord said, "I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Which means, that as soon as that man died, and as soon as the Lord died, they would ultimately be together in heaven. And, all that happened in a very short period of time. The thief died, and shortly thereafter Christ died, and they were together in Paradise. 

6. What a picture all of this is for us, what an encouragement. We also are sinners, and when the Holy Spirit convicts us of the truths about sin, and about righteousness, and about judgment, and we yield ourselves to God, we become saved. And when we die, we also are with God forever, and forever in heaven. 

A prayer:

Father, there is no other name given under heaven whereby a man can be saved, but by and through the name, the person of Jesus Christ. Thank You for bringing the Holy Spirit's conviction into our lives, and drawing us to Yourself by Your goodness. It's Your goodness, that has led us to repentance. We are thankful today, and will be through eternity. Someday, we will see You in person, face to face, and we will be able to express our gratitude in a much more fulfilling way. We will do it, along with the innumerable multitude of angels, and all the many who have also been saved. You are the Lamb of God which has taken away our sins. No one but You can do this, thank You Father.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia