The Thief Who Testified on the Cross - GOD Can Use You Even in Your Mess | John Giftah

0:01 Speaker 1: Do you ever look around and think, Wow, the world

0:05 Speaker 1: is a crazy place and it just seems to get

0:08 Speaker 1: crazier and crazier. Ease your mind and take a break.

0:13 Speaker 1: This is Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta. We're

0:17 Speaker 1: a hub for inspirational Christian sermons, practical keys for Christian living,

0:23 Speaker 1: in Christian discussions and interviews. You'll be inspired to live

0:27 Speaker 1: the life that you were created for. Your host is

0:30 Speaker 1: a top ranking podcaster, best selling author, world record holder,

0:35 Speaker 1: aerospace engineer, life coach, evangelist and founder of John Gifta International.

0:41 Speaker 1: Welcome to Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta.

0:45 Speaker 2: Hello everyone, Welcome to this edition of the Fuel for

0:47 Speaker 2: the Soul with John gift of podcast. As you would

0:49 Speaker 2: have noticed that we're doing a series of this week

0:53 Speaker 2: studying about the two Thieves on the Cross and their

0:55 Speaker 2: encounter with Jesus, because I really believe in going in depth,

0:59 Speaker 2: just rushing through, and I want to look at different

1:02 Speaker 2: aspects that we can really dive in and apply in

1:04 Speaker 2: our life. And I really recommend you to stay plugged in.

1:08 Speaker 2: I also want you to go back to yesterday's episode

1:10 Speaker 2: to learn more. But there's one important aspect I wanted

1:13 Speaker 2: to recentrate and just take this forward. It's just that

1:16 Speaker 2: sometimes we think that one was a good thief and

1:18 Speaker 2: the other was a bad thief. But I was actually

1:21 Speaker 2: sitting the ground right to let you know yesterday through

1:24 Speaker 2: the scripture that both the thieves started the same way.

1:27 Speaker 2: Both of them ridiculed and mocked Jesus, which resembles the

1:31 Speaker 2: fact that we are all sinners. We can't say that, oh,

1:34 Speaker 2: I'm not a big sinner, you know, compared to somebody

1:37 Speaker 2: else who's murdered someone or something like that. No, we

1:39 Speaker 2: all have the same starting point, and we all need

1:42 Speaker 2: Jesus to come back to the frame. And you're the

1:46 Speaker 2: thing today. I want to talk about one aspect right

1:49 Speaker 2: that really caught my attention. I think you might know this,

1:52 Speaker 2: but I just want to put this out there. So

1:54 Speaker 2: there's this moment where one of the criminals hanging beside

1:58 Speaker 2: Jesus score saying, if you're the Messiah, right, prove it

2:03 Speaker 2: by seeing yourself and save us while you're at it. Okay,

2:06 Speaker 2: I'm reading from the NLT version and this is from

2:09 Speaker 2: Luke twenty three thirty nine to forty three. And here's

2:13 Speaker 2: the thing I wanted to understand the other criminal protest

2:16 Speaker 2: is saying, don't you fear God even when you've been

2:19 Speaker 2: sentenced to die. We deserve to die for our crimes.

2:22 Speaker 2: But this man has done nothing wrong. Then he said, Jesus,

2:26 Speaker 2: remember me when you come into your kingdom. There's so

2:29 Speaker 2: much to unpack, so much to learn. The next couple

2:31 Speaker 2: of days we're going to learn as well, because I

2:34 Speaker 2: told you guys yesterday, I'm going to be a ministering

2:36 Speaker 2: in two churches this Good Friday on the same theme.

2:39 Speaker 2: So I'm studying and I think there's so much to

2:42 Speaker 2: unpack and I just want to share these with you guys.

2:45 Speaker 2: And today one of the things that caught my attention

2:47 Speaker 2: was when you think about Jesus hanging on the cross,

2:50 Speaker 2: there's so many things that he said, right, you know,

2:53 Speaker 2: he said, I'm thirsty. It has finished. Father, forgive them

2:56 Speaker 2: for the do not know what they do. Different things

2:58 Speaker 2: Jesus said. And the only thing that you see here

3:03 Speaker 2: is a moment where Jesus is responding to someone at

3:08 Speaker 2: a point where this man who's hanging on a cross

3:12 Speaker 2: was testifying about Jesus. He was actually preaching about Jesus.

3:16 Speaker 2: Think about this. No one else, none of their disciples

3:19 Speaker 2: were out there telling everyone a guys, you know what,

3:22 Speaker 2: this man has done nothing wrong. They were all in

3:24 Speaker 2: hiding except for John. The Apostle trust were all hiding,

3:28 Speaker 2: and except for a handful like Mary and a few others,

3:32 Speaker 2: everyone else was absconding. Right, Nobody else spoke up for

3:37 Speaker 2: Jesus except this criminal who was just transformed. Because I said,

3:41 Speaker 2: like yesterday, he was also one among the grayang that was,

3:47 Speaker 2: you know, mocking Jesus. Okay, I want you to go

3:50 Speaker 2: back to a Siday's episode so understand the context of it.

3:53 Speaker 2: But he transforms, you know, while hanging on the cross,

3:58 Speaker 2: to a point where he is actually preaching or testifying

4:02 Speaker 2: or witnessing for who Jesus is by saying, this man

4:04 Speaker 2: has done nothing wrong. You know, Like he doesn't even

4:08 Speaker 2: start by saying Jesus please save me. He first, you know,

4:13 Speaker 2: testifies about Jesus and then he says, Jesus, remember me

4:18 Speaker 2: when you come into your kingdom. Right, he is witnessing,

4:22 Speaker 2: he's testifying for Jesus. You see, if a criminal like

4:26 Speaker 2: you just got saved, he's not gone to seminary, he's

4:30 Speaker 2: not gone through training, he's not grown in the church.

4:34 Speaker 2: He's not learned anything. But a criminal who just got

4:38 Speaker 2: saved is witnessing for Jesus. Sometimes we say, oh, you

4:42 Speaker 2: know what, you need to do theology, you need to

4:45 Speaker 2: do seminary, you need to do this, you need to

4:47 Speaker 2: do that to be qualified to talk about Jesus. Who

4:50 Speaker 2: are you? Can I tell you something If a criminal

4:52 Speaker 2: who just got saved was testifying about Jesus and defending

4:58 Speaker 2: Jesus and opening his mouth and talking about Jesus, when

5:02 Speaker 2: the people who were with Jesus throughout, like John the

5:05 Speaker 2: Apostle Mary, none of these people opening their mount and

5:08 Speaker 2: testified or said anything to you know, Oh, come on, Jesus,

5:14 Speaker 2: did nothing wrong? Come on, like do something, guys or

5:18 Speaker 2: I mean like they were just watching helplessly. No one

5:20 Speaker 2: else opened them out to testify. But this criminal, this robber,

5:26 Speaker 2: this rebel, this revolutionary, this guy who just got saved

5:32 Speaker 2: did it. Isn't that a message to all of us

5:35 Speaker 2: that if God can use a just saved criminal to

5:41 Speaker 2: testify at the point when no one else, who even

5:45 Speaker 2: the people who walked with Jesus for the past three

5:47 Speaker 2: and of years, dared to open them out, then can

5:52 Speaker 2: you imagine to what extent God can use you. And

5:54 Speaker 2: I I'm not saying don't go to seminary. I'm not

5:57 Speaker 2: saying don't be equipped. What I'm saying thing is you

6:01 Speaker 2: don't have to have that as a criteria for God

6:03 Speaker 2: to use you. God can use you if you're willing,

6:07 Speaker 2: if you are willing to defend, stand up for the truth,

6:10 Speaker 2: if you're willing to stand up to say you know what,

6:12 Speaker 2: this is all I know about Jesus. I may not

6:14 Speaker 2: know the theology. I may not know all the background

6:17 Speaker 2: in history and Greek and Hebrew. I may don't know

6:20 Speaker 2: all of that, but this is what I know. And

6:21 Speaker 2: I'm defending, and I'm standing up and I'm testifying about Jesus.

6:26 Speaker 2: That's what matters. This man did that, and then he

6:31 Speaker 2: went and he said, Jesus, remember me, Like, think about this.

6:36 Speaker 2: If you and I were in the position first thing,

6:37 Speaker 2: it'll be like you don't forget defending Jesus first. Jesus,

6:41 Speaker 2: please help me. You know, we'd like to get something first.

6:45 Speaker 2: But this man testified, he spoke up up, he defended Jesus.

6:51 Speaker 2: And then he says, Jesus, remember me. Isn't that a

6:56 Speaker 2: message to some of us that we need to stop

6:58 Speaker 2: being all about what can I get, what can I get?

7:01 Speaker 2: What can I get, and first be interested in doing

7:05 Speaker 2: something like Holly could do, is do that testify. He

7:10 Speaker 2: could have kept his mouth shut, but he didn't. And

7:12 Speaker 2: that is something really really worthwhile to think about because

7:17 Speaker 2: I believe he used one of the very few people

7:20 Speaker 2: who testified or witnessed for Jesus while Jesus was on

7:23 Speaker 2: the cross itself. And that and eventually he's the first

7:29 Speaker 2: to actually get into the getting getting saved when Jesus

7:35 Speaker 2: actually finished the work on the cross that day. So

7:38 Speaker 2: that's off to this man, and let us be like

7:40 Speaker 2: him in the sense, not like a criminal. Just kidding,

7:44 Speaker 2: I'm saying, let's feel like people who are willing to

7:47 Speaker 2: say even if I'm in a mess. This man was

7:49 Speaker 2: in a mess, you know. He people would typically say,

7:53 Speaker 2: you are a criminal, you are not fit to talk

7:55 Speaker 2: about Jesus. You look at your mess, you look at

7:58 Speaker 2: your problems. There is something if you say, let me

8:01 Speaker 2: my problem is, let my miss chrissolve and then I

8:04 Speaker 2: talk about Jesus, then well to go to heaven and

8:07 Speaker 2: talk about Jesus. So the best lesson to share is

8:11 Speaker 2: that even if you're in a mess. Even if things

8:14 Speaker 2: are messy today's today, God has given you to just

8:18 Speaker 2: use it to talk about Jesus. Amen. God bless you.

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