The Thief Who Found Paradise

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SUNDAY 5 OCTOBER 2025 pm - PASTOR HENRY CASKEY

LUKE 23 VERSES 32 TO 43

Luke records for us this wonderful account of the conversion of this old thief. The day of life was far spent for this thief. Here he was hanging on the cross of Calvary. The day of his life was ebbing to a close. Very soon he would close his eyes in death. Very soon he would step out into God's eternity. Not one of us know tonight what day we will step out into God's eternity. And thank God tonight this is a preparation time for that great day. God is giving us the opportunity to step out into his eternity knowing full well and knowing with all assurance that we're saved by God's grace and heaven will be our eternal home forever and forever. This is a scene that has been recorded for us away back by the prophet Isaiah some maybe six or 700 years even before the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah in that chapter 53 reveals to us where the Lord Jesus Christ dies and he reveals to us why he died. You see, Isaiah tells us where he died. Verse 9 "And he made his grave with the wicked." And he was numbered with the transgressors. He was numbered there with the two thieves, one on side. But then Isaiah also tells us why he died. Verse 12 tells us that "he bare the sin of many and he made intercession for the transgressors." In verse number 6 it tells us that the Lord "laid on him the iniquity of us all." There was the Lord Jesus Christ hanging upon the cross of Calvary and God laid every sin upon him and in his own body. He took your sins and my sins. He made those sins his very own and he bore the burden to Calvary. Why, what a task God did for us then. Of course that's the why. But what a tremendous scene. And that's what we want to spend just a few moments thinking about. Let's look for a few moments in the life of this man, this old thief who was nailed to that cross as a diehard sinner. But before he closed his eyes in death, he knew with all assurance that he was stepping out into God's eternity. It took but a few words. It took but a few seconds. And tonight this could be the evening that would change your direction and destiny for all eternity.

The first we want to think about was the ascent this man gives to the crowd. Where is he? He's hanging on the cross within sight of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's go back an hour or two and see the scene that was in Pilate's Judgment Hall. We see the abuse that the Lord Jesus Christ had taken there. We see the ridicule that was made towards him. We see how he was how he was beaten. How he was spat upon. How those soldiers reached forth and plucked the very hairs from his face. How he was ladened with a robe and a crown of thorns placed upon his head. How he was beaten. How a cross was laid upon his shoulder. And how he was made to carry that cross to that hill called Calvary. And then as he's raised up between heaven and earth and every joint in his body pulled out of place on either side, those 2 thieves were there. And this man was giving his ascent with the other thief and with the crowd. You see, this was a worldly, ungodly man. He had lived his life up to this point in rebellion and a rejection of the things of God. Matthew and Mark describes these 2 men who were being crucified as thieves. That's the title that was given to these 2 men. The Lord Jesus Christ took your sin and my sin. And there he would take your place and my place on that middle cross between 2 thieves. These 2 men, they lived dishonest lives. They helped themselves with no thought of anyone else. They lived their lives just as they pleased and they served themselves. And yet in the dying moments of one man's life, in the dying seconds of one man's life, he reaches out to the Lord Jesus Christ and he calls upon him. Maybe tonight you could call out and your life would be changed for all eternity. These 2 men lived their lives as the apostle Paul described there in the book of Ephesians. Here's what he said "Where in time past we walked according to the course of this world." These 2 men were walking according to the course of this world. They were helping themselves as they went through this old world. But there was one dictator that they had, perhaps one that they didn't even realize. And here's what it says about them. "According to the prince of the power of the air" that was our course in this life. We were blinded by the God of this world. You and I can be saved by the grace of God. There was a time whenever we were blinded by the god of this world. Just as these men, we followed the course of this old world. "And the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." Then Paul makes this claim "among whom also we all had our conversation in times past." We all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature the children of wrath even as others. This man Paul he was such a religious young man. He crossed every t and dotted every i in the religious society of that particular day. He gives his testimony there in the book of Philippians. And what does he say about himself? He says there that he was circumcised the eighth day according to the Jewish tradition. He was of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee. But he wasn't saved. You and I can be many a thing tonight. We can be deeply religious. Maybe you have already been at your church service this morning. And maybe you even sat at the Lord's table this morning but if you are not saved, you are not on your way to heaven and home. You are lost and lost for all eternity. Here he was a thief and assenting with the crowd right down from the cross. All the people around the cross that day were ridiculing the Saviour. They were telling him to come down from the cross. "If you are the Christ, if you are the Son of God come down from the cross. Save yourself. Save us." The thieves were saying. And the 2 thieves were joining in with the crowd. What a scene that must have been on that particular occasion. As he chanted, as he ridiculed, as he spoke those awful things about Christ. Maybe tonight you and I would run with the crowd. Here was a man who assented with the crowd. He was happy enough to go with the crowd for a little time during that day. Poor old Pilate. He was the same. Now Jesus was brought down before him. And Pilate was given that great privilege of standing before the Lord Jesus Christ. He could have let the Lord Jesus Christ be released but he couldn't do it. He looked at the crowd and went with the crowd. Pilate said "I find no fault in this man." He looks under the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ. He looks to crowd and he says "You have asked me to examine this man and I have examined him, I find no fault in this man. I can let him go." And my the crowd chanted. And then he says "well then, what shall I do?" Here's a man who's looking to the crowd to know what to do. Maybe you are looking to the crowd tonight to see what decision you must make about the Lord Jesus Christ. The crowd tells Pilate "crucify him". And Pilate called for that basin of water and he washed his hands. He couldn't make up his mind. He was assented to by the crowd on that occasion. 

There is a story of a wealthy farmer way back in the great Ulster Revival of 1859. That man sat in the gospel meetings and was awakened to the need of his soul. He realised that he needed to be saved. He realised he couldn't save himself. But he had an old uncle. And this old uncle had promised him a farm of land. He knew the situation with this young man, that he was thinking about getting saved. And the old uncle said to the young man "If you get saved, you can say farewell to the farm. I am not leaving my farm of land to a man that would go down that line." And the young man assented to him. He sat on in the gospel meetings, feeling the great need of being saved and giving his heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ and he got up night after night and he walked out of those meetings. Many years later he was lying upon his deathbed. A young man, a neighbour of his that had known him quite well, used to frequently visit him. He sat beside him night after night, pleading with him to get saved. And as he lay on his deathbed on one particular occasion the very final night that the young man sat with him, turned around to that young man and he said "I'm sorry." He said "I made a very bad deal. I made a very bad bargain in the 1859 revival. I chose a farm of land over the Lord Jesus Christ." Isn't that what Jesus says "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" You see the reality tonight and this old thief came to that situation. The reality tonight is this that there is a soul within this bosom of mine and that bosom of yours that one day whenever you close your eyes and death that's not the end of the soul. The body will go to the grave but the soul goes out unto God's eternity. And the bible tells me there are but 2 places in eternity. The bible says there's a heaven to gain and there's a hell to shun. We thank God tonight that Jesus Christ came to pay that price. 

The acknowledgement that he came to. You see what a change that came about in this man's life just in those remaining moments. The whole scene changed. The 2 thieves on either side are ranting and ridiculing and criticizing the Lord Jesus Christ. They are joining in with the crowd that is sitting around the foot of the cross. But what a change came over one man, one thief on the cross. He looks to the other thief and he says "Listen, will you hold your peace? will you be quiet? We indeed justly we receive the due reward of our deeds." "But this man has done nothing amiss." He says "we are here because of what we have done. We are here because we are dying for our sins, but not this man. This man has done nothing amiss." That is one of the greatest statements in all of scripture. The insight that this man go as he closed his eyes in death. His whole life was beginning to flash before him. This man is now gripped by the fear of God. That's a tremendous thing. You see, there is no fear of God today. But this man was gripped with the fear of God. The very thought of stepping out into God's eternity without him. This man realizes now that there is a God and that he must stand before him. That's a tremendous truth to me that each and every one of us will stand before the God of heaven and we must answer the question, what have we done with Jesus Christ? Every one of us will stand there. This man realizes that he's on the cross because of the wrongs that he has done. He realizes now that he is a sinner and that death is not the end. He realizes as he looks to Jesus there is something different about this man on the middle cross. Isn't that a wonderful realization? Isn't that a wonderful acknowledgement? There is a God in haven who loves us. The bible makes it so very, very clear that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish. God is looking down upon a world that is lost in sin and he loves that world. He loves you and he loves me so much that he would take the very best of heaven, Jesus Christ, his only son and he would send him down to the sin cursed world to die on the cross of Calvary. He must suffer, he must bleed and he must die. That is how much God loves you. That is how much he loves me. We could never ever comprehend it. we can never ever think about it. The love that God had for us. The love that drew salvations plan and the grace that brought it down to man and the gulf that God span at that place called Calvary. All the acknowledgement that this man comes to this evening. He looks at the Lord Jesus Christ and says "this man has done nothing of this." He realizes that Jesus is king of another domain. He realizes now in these fleeting moments that Jesus is stepping out into another kingdom and he is the king of that kingdom. He says "Lord remember me."

The story is told of a man looking in through a shop window on one occasion. And as he was looking in through the window, his gaze came upon a picture that was painted. It was a scene of Calvary. It was this scene of the Lord Jesus Christ and the 2 thieves. And the man gazed in upon it. And a wee boy came alongside him as he looking into it. And the wee boy says "sir do you know what is happening in that picture?" The man replies "I don't." Well he says, "Sir, the man in the middle cross is the Lord Jesus Christ. The 2 men on either side, that's the two thieves that the bible speaks about. It says the Lord Jesus Christ is God's son and he is dying on the cross for us. Just across the way there's a cave and that is where they laid him." And as the man listened to the wee boy explaining all this to him he turned away and walked down the street. There were tears in his eyes and the wee boy came running after him. "Sir that's not the full story. He rose again from the dead." 

That is the full story. That Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. And that he was dead and buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. He did it for you and for me. We cannot be saved until we come to that place of acknowledgement. Until you and I realize that we are sinners, that God loves us, that he died and rose again you cannot be saved. 

Notice the appeal this man makes. All of this has gone through his mind. He is pondering it all in his mind. He says "I am in this position because of what I've done. I am in this position because of my birth. I was born in sin and shapen in iniquity." He goes on "I have lied. I have stolen. I have frauded. I have conned people out of money. I have done everything that was wrong. And now I am getting the full just reward of my life." Isn't that what the bible says? "The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ." He was a man and he is ebbing out into eternity and he realizes that now. He makes this great appeal. But you know there was another young man in the bible and he makes an appeal but he wasn't coming near death. As a matter of fact, if we would like to say it in such a way he had all of his life before him. The bible explains him as being rich. The bible explains him as being young and a ruler. In the depths of his heart he realized that he wasn't saved. He came to the Lord and said "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He realized that he wasn't saved. He had a great position in life, had plenty of money but he was not saved. The appeal he made to the Lord Jesus was a simple one - "what must I do to be saved?" The Lord says "what about the commandments?" The young man replied "all these I have kept from my youth up." He was a religious young man, probably born into a good home but he knew he wasn't saved. And none of those commandments would ever get him into heaven. He had to come to Christ but when it came to that last step, he couldn't do it. He walked away. Here was a man hanging on this cross knowing that he was going out into eternity, he was just another breath away. He says "Lord remember me." 

The assurance that he got. Verse 43 "today thou shalt be with me in paradise." This man was dying. He was going out into eternity. And on this very same day he would be in paradise. Paul speaks about the great assurance of leaving this world trusting in Christ. He says it would be absent from the body and present with the Lord. And he says, you know, it would be far, far better. Does the church give that assurance? Not at all. Does my good works give that assurance? Not at all. Does sitting at the communion table give that assurance? It does not. But God gives us that assurance. The jailer went down to Paul and asks Paul "what must I do to be saved?" And Paul says "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." You may have a head belief tonight but I want you to see him as the sinless sacrifice for sin, for your sin and for my sin. He left heaven's glory, he stepped into this sin cursed world, he died upon an old rugged cross at Calvary, he was buried and on the third day he rose again. Do you believe it? Would you make him yours tonight? Would you trust him as your own personal Saviour?

God's unspeakable gift

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 7 DECEMBER 2025 pm – MR GARETH McINTYRE

2 CORINTHIANS 9 VERSES 8 TO 15

Long ago in Persia, there ruled a wise and a good king who loved his people. The king wanted to know how his people lived and he wanted to know about the hardships that they endured. Often the king would dress in the clothes of a beggar and he would call to the homes of the poor. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He sat down and he ate the awful food that the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him and then he left. A short time later, he went back to visit that same poor man again but only this time he revealed to him his true identity. He said “I am your king.” The king thought that maybe this man would ask some type of gift or favour but he didn’t. Instead he said “You left your palace and you left your glory to visit me in this dark and dirty place. You took time to sit with me. You ate the coarse food that I ate. You brought gladness and you brought joy to my heart.” He said “To others you have given your rich gifts, but to me you have given yourself.”

Tonight, the King of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ left his palace and he left his glory. And he came down to where we are and he gave himself for you and he me. And the bible calls him “the unspeakable gift.” Have you ever received God’s gift of salvation? Have you ever received by faith Jesus Christ, God’s unspeakable gift?

2 Corinthians 9’s theme is that of Christian giving. Paul is commending the believers for their willingness to give to the poor saints at Jerusalem. Here they are prepared to give not grudgingly but willingly. They are prepared to give not sparingly but bountifully. All the while as Paul is writing this letter he is taking time to build up the picture. Not thinking so much about the gifts but thinking about another gift, the Lord’s gift to us. All the while, Paul had his eye upon the God of heaven, the greatest giver of all. You see, Paul was bringing them to Jesus Christ, who is the greatest motivation for all given. He’s God’s love gift to a lost and undeserving world. Paul writes in verse 15 “Thanks be on to God for his unspeakable gift.” It’s the Christmas miracle. John 1 verse 14 tells us how that first Christmas came about. He writes “And the word became flesh and dwelt among us.” In Galatians 4 verse 4 it says “And when the fulness of time came, God sent forth his son, born of a woman born under the law.” Jesus Christ was the unique God man. As God, he walked on water. He calmed the storm. He healed the sick and he rose from the dead. As man, the Lord Jesus got thirsty and tired. He felt sorrow and pain and suffering. Jesus came to this earth as a tiny helpless seed planted into the womb of a young Jewish virgin. 40 years later Christ was born in a filthy stable. Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem meaning the house of bread. You see, Bethlehem was the birthplace of the bread of life. God wanted people to know that the only hope for this world was a Saviour. And that is the true meaning of Christmas. Do you realize that Christ is your only hope? Do you know that Christ is your greatest need? As one writer points out,

If your greatest need was information, God would have sent an educator.

If your greatest need was money, God would have sent an economist.

If our greatest need was pleasure, God would have sent an entertainer.

But our greatest need was forgiveness. So God sent us a Saviour.

If you die without the Saviour you will die in your sin. Jesus said in John 8 verse 21 “I go my way and ye shall seek me and die in your sins. Where I go, you cannot come.” And then the reality is that one day you will stand at the great white throne in judgment. You will stand alone. You will be sentenced alone. And you will suffer alone and listen for all of God’s great eternity. Will you reach out your hand tonight and receive Christ by faith and walk out being able to say this Christmas season, thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. For some people Christmas is just another few weeks off work. It is maybe just a time to wind down, to relax and chill out. To some it is a stressful time. To others an emotional time. They may be feeling the financial squeeze and pressure. To others Christmas is just an excuse to get drunk, to have a party, to get something, to give a little, to spend money, to overeat and to indulge. I am sure we all enjoy the festivities, getting together with family and friends. We enjoy seeing our children open the presents on Christmas morning. We love to see their little faces light up. Grandparents love to take the opportunity to spoil their grandchildren and shower them with gifts. Everybody loves to gather around the Christmas dinner table, cutting the turkey, pulling the Christmas crackers and drinking the Shloer, relaxing in front of the fire and the list goes on. But you know to the Christian it is a time whenever we come remember something so special, the time to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amidst all the giving and getting we are so thankful to God for his unspeakable gift. We are so thankful for sins forgiven. We are thankful for everlasting life. We are thankful for his abiding presence and his everlasting love. We are thankful that we can claim every promise of the book. We are thankful for his amazing grace, for his boundless provision and for his precious holy and inspired word. Those of us tonight who are saved, we are so thankful that God has lifted us up out of the pit of sin, saved our soul and gave us a purpose in this life. Paul calls this gift unspeakable. Unspeakable carries the meaning of not being able to express something audibly, It means that it is impossible to adequately describe this gift. This unspeakable gift is beyond description. It is too intense. It is too extreme. It is indescribable. It is God’s unspeakable gift. This is the gift of all gifts, from the greatest giver of all. This is God’s love gift to a lost and fallen world. It is also a personal gift. Salvation is personally offered to each one of us. No one is excluded. The Lord himself says “I am the door. By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” Christ said “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” He is the one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. He is personally offered. He is also presently available. The bible says “Behold now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation.” Salvation is available now. Praise God. We are in the day of grace. But remember, just like the ark in Noah’s day, provision was made. The offer was given. Then eventually the door would close and it would be too late.

Firstly, notice it is an expensive gift. Whenever we buy people Christmas presents, we don’t spend all the money that we have. Maybe we set a certain amount aside and say that’s it, that is all I am prepared to spend. That is all I am willing to spend on this present. But whenever we think of God’s unspeakable gift to us, when we think of its expense, its cost, God spared no expense for you and for me. Romans 8 verse 32 “he spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all.” Everything that heaven could afford was given for our salvation. There was no one in heaven or earth that could give more than God. When he gave the darling of his bosom, the well beloved, only begotten son of God there was a great cost.

When you look around at the graves of soldiers it reminds us that freedom is not free. It comes with a cost, a great cost. And these men and women paid the ultimate sacrifice.

We are so thankful for brave men and women who have lost their lives fighting for the freedom we enjoy. But do you understand that it is only Christ that can set you free from your sin? James says “Sin whenever it is finished brings forth death.” Christ was the lamb slain before the foundation of the earth. The hymn writer said

There was no other good enough

To pay the price for sin

He only could unlock the gate

Of heaven and let us in

Whenever there was none other good enough, the father commissioned the son and sent him forth. Job 33 verse 24 describes Christ in poetic form.

I have found a ransom

God the Father could have searched through heaven, amidst all the angelic host. He could have looked to earth and humanity from Adam to the very end of time and he never would have found one that was good enough. He could not have found one who qualified to be the ransom for the souls of men and women. But you know in Jesus Christ, God the Father found a ransom. He found one who was good enough and he sent him forth on that costly mission to go to the cross and lay down his life for our sin. Jesus Christ became our substitute. He came to take the sinner’s place and he took our sin because that sin separates us from God. It must be punished and God’s justice demands perfection. And God gave the gift of his son, his perfect son. And Christ came and he purchased salvation for us. He came and he bought our freedom at highest cost. And it was paid for with his own life’s blood. And this gift is an expensive gift. Do you realise the cost of it? Christ had to leave behind and temporarily give up the splendour of heaven and leave his father. Christ came down into this sin sick world. He chose no palace, He chose no status. He took the lowest of the lowest in society and he was born in a filthy stable. He was born as a man and he dwelt among men. He was born of our bone and he was flesh of our flesh. He was deity veiled in our humanity. He was truly God and truly man. And the Lord Jesus Christ came will well willingly and he lived a perfect obedient and sinless life. He lived a life that you and I could never live. In the book of Hebrews it says he was holy, blameless and undefiled. He was separate from sinners. Christ said in John 6 verse 38 “For I came down from heaven not to do my own will but to do the will of him that sent me.” You see it was God the Father’s will that Christ would go to that cross of shame. The word of God says Christ set his face as a flint to go to Jerusalem. Nothing was going to stop him from going there. He endured all that came with it. He was betrayed. He was denied and forsaken. Isaiah could say that he was despised and rejected of men. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. The Lord Jesus sweated those great drops of blood as he agonized in the garden of Gethsemane. He endured the scouring of Golgotha and the passion of the metal tree. He was beaten and he was mocked and wept. They pulled the hairs from his lovely face and they beat a crown of thorns upon his lovely brow. But worse of all, he endured the darkness. He endured the wrath of a just and of a holy God. When the bible tells us that God laid upon him the iniquity of us all, Jesus Christ was exhausted for sin. Yet amidst his suffering, he lifted up his voice and he cried, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” And as he hung on that cross, it was our sin he was bearing. It was our curse he was suffering. It was our debt he was paying. And it was our death that he was dying. You see, Christ drank the cup of God’s wrath so that you and I can drink the cup of God’s mercy. Oh the cost of it. It cost God everything. And he offers it freely to all that will repent and believe. It is an expensive gift.

Secondly, it is an expressive gift. This unspeakable gift of Christ and his salvation is expressed in God’s unconditional love. The bible says “For God so loved the world that he gave.” Whenever we buy gifts we buy them for people we know, our friends and our family members. We just don’t buy gifts to people that we don’t know. We buy them for people we love, people we care about, people that we have a concern for or an interest in. But God offers this gift to sinners. He offers it to people that haven’t earned it, haven’t merited it, or do not deserve it. God gave the gift of his son as an expression of his love to the lost and undeserving world. In Romans 5 verse 8 Paul puts it like this. “But God commendeth his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” 1 John 4 verse 9 “And this was manifested the love of God toward us because that God sent his only begotten son into this world that we might live through him.” The apostle Paul could say “The son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” This unspeakable gift is an expensive gift. It is an expressive gift of God’s great love for you. A W Tozer “God does not love populations. He loves people.” God does not love masses. He loves men. He loves all with a mighty love that has no beginning and has no end. Isaac Watts penned these words as he pondered the cross …

See from his head, his hands, his feet

Sorrow and love flow mingled down

Did e’er such love or sorrow meet

Or thorns compose so rich a crown

 

Where the whole realm of nature mine

That where an offering far too small

Love so amazing, so divine

Demands my soul, my life, my all

Maybe you feel unloved, maybe you think how could God love me after all the awful things I have done. Maybe you feel like you have made a mess of everything. Well, the word of God tells us that God loves you. And God so loved you and he expresses that love by sending his son down into this world to die for you that you might live through him that you might one day live with him. This is an expensive gift. It is an expressive gift.

Thirdly, it is an eternal gift. Every gift that you’ll receive this Christmas will only last a short time. If it is a voucher it will be used. If it is clothes that they will wear, they will break. They will get lost. You will have them in your possession for only a short space of time. Everything we have in this life can be lost. It can be taken away in an instant. You can lose your possessions. You can lose your business. You can lose your wealth. And very quickly you can lose your wealth, your health. But when it comes to God’s unspeakable gift, it is an eternal gift. Christ said in John 10 verse 28 “I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. This gift of Christ, this gift of eternal life will never be lost. It will never break down. And it will never fail. It will never be destroyed. It will never be taken away. You see, the bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. His promises are so sure. If you come to Christ tonight, if you repent and turn from your sin and believe the gospel and be saved, you will never be lost. You will be as sure of heaven as if you are already there. John 3 verse 36 “he who believes in the Son has eternal life.” John 6 verse 27 says “Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for the meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you for him hath God the Father sealed.” What are you labouring for tonight? What are you depending on tonight? Many devote themselves to business. Many spend years and years climbing the ladder, accumulating great wealth but forgetting that one day they will have to leave all of it behind. The bible warns us “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” Some devote themselves to religion. Some try and do their best. They do good and they give money. Thinking that because they live on the clean side of the broad road they are OK. They think that doing good will somehow outweigh their bad. Forgetting the bible says your righteousnesses are as filthy rags. And one day, whenever they are weighed in the balances not in the balances of man, not in the balances of the church but weighed in the balances of God, they will be found wanting. Being good and doing good is commendable but it will keep the blood of Christ to keep you out of hell. Some seek after pleasure. Some search this world high and low for something that will bring lasting peace. But this world has nothing to offer. The hymn writer summed it up when he penned those words

I’ve tried the broken cisterns Lord

But ah the water failed

Then he goes on to say

There is none but Christ can satisfy

None other name for me

There’s love and life and lasting joy

Lord Jesus found in thee

This unspeakable gift, it is an expensive gift. It is an expressive gift. It is an eternal gift.

But can we notice lastly this gift, this unspeakable gift, it is an essential gift. Whenever we buy people gifts, we would try and get them something that we believe they need something that they don’t already have. Sometimes we are at a loss what to get. And the point is this – most of the gifts, if not all of the gifts we will receive this Christmas are unessential gifts. But whenever we think of God’s unspeakable gift, this gift is essential. Not just to some, but it is essential to all. Salvation is vital. Salvation is of utmost importance. It is most necessary. Nothing in your life should take greater priority. There is no greater need for a man or a woman than getting right with God and aving their sins forgiven and under the precious blood. Without Christ there is no escape. In the book of Hebrews 2 we are asked that great question “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” The answer is there is no escape. There is no escape. Hell waits those who lived without Christ and die without Christ. The old says goes you can run but you can’t hide. And death will eventually catch up in you. King David could say in the book of Samuel “There is but a step between me and death.” Will you be ready. Are you ready to meet God?

Two men on one occasion were watching a funeral possession passed by and one said to the other “There goes the last thing of all.” The other said, “No it’s not. After death comes judgment, and you will either meet Jesus Christ as your Saviour or you will meet him as your judge.”

You see this is an essential gift. You will either hear those words “depart from me, you cursed” or you will hear those beautiful words “come, enter into the joy of the Lord.” Do you want to know what the cry from hell is this evening. You will find it in the book of Luke – “send someone lest they come to this place of torment.” It is cried from the lips of those who died having rejected and neglected God’s unspeakable gift.  Maybe you can say like the hymn write 

Where is the blessedness I knew?

When first I saw the Lord

Where is the sole refreshing view

Of Jesus and his word?

The Lord stands waiting and he stands willing to save and restore any backslider that comes to him. And he stands with his arms stretched out like the father, ready to welcome the prodigal home.

Some time ago in Germany a young man lay on top of an operating table. A skilled surgeon with his medical team stood just beside the bedside. The surgeon said to the patient “Son if you have any thing to say before we administer the anesthetic now would be your opportunity, for it is my duty. They will be the last words you ever utter.” This young man fully understood because his tongue was being removed because of cancer. What words for such an occasion? What words would you say? The young man pondered it for a few moments and then he said this. “Thank God for Jesus Christ.”

I wonder can you say that? Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. If you can’t say that will you say it now and receive the greatest gift ever given for Jesus’ sake?   

The Reality of Trials in the Christian Life

 

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 7 DECEMBER 2025 am – MR GARETH McINTYRE

JAMES 1 VERSES 1 TO 4

Whenever we come to the book of James it is the evident burden of the writer to remind us not to put off our faith until times get better. That our trial is not the time to rejoice less, that during our sickness it is not the time to pray less and amidst our loss is not to love others less but rather now is the time to practice that love, that joy, that peace that can be evident and overflowing in the Christian life even in the midst of difficult circumstances. It is one thing to say we have faith, another to show faith. James tells us that true genuine faith in Christ will always show up in character and conduct of a person’s life even in times of trial. When it comes to the professing Christian, if there’s no evident change there must be something very strange. Whenever we come to the book of James, that’s what it is all about. Really James is a practical guide to Christian living and conduct. It is the most practical of all epistles. Some have even called it the proverbs of the New Testament. James is filled with moral precepts and it states the ethnics of the Christian faith. We are to practice in our lives what we proclaim with our lips. In other words we are to put in a shoe leather what we claim to believe. We should have a faith that works. When those around us watch our lives, when they weigh up and assess our daily attitudes in any given situation, do they see a faith that constantly waivers or do they see a faith that consistently works?

The 5 chapters of James instruct us as Christians on many practical things. We are to act wisely, treat people equally, control our tongues, produce harmony and we are to pray effectively. And we are to wait patiently. The first 4 verses of chapter 1 show us a faith in the fire. In verse 1, James the author of this book, who is the half brother of Jesus picks up his pen around the year 43 AD and he writes “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus.” Here James as he writes displays great humility. He refers to himself not as James the pillar of the church, not as James the brother of the Lord. He doesn’t say “I’m James the just.” No he simply says “James the servant of God.” James calls himself a bond servant. A bond servant was one who had given up their own will and yielded it to another. And isn’t that how a true man of God should be? Regardless of how high their position in the church, they should always regard themselves as servants of Christ. One commentator writes “A servant or a doulos was a slave who had completed their time of service and could have been set free from their master’s control. However after considering everything in this world and all its opportunities, the slave concluded that he was far better of with his master and he became a bond servant by choice. This servant’s earlobe was placed against a doorpost and pierced to signify his new standing. As he would walk down the streets people would see him and they would exclaim “what a wonderful master that man must have.” He could have been set free, but he chose to stay with his master.” You see true freedom is this world is only found in being a slave of God. Absolutely  nothing this world has to offer can compare to this great honour. Then we’re told in verse number 1 who the letter is to – “to the 12 tribes scattered abroad.” This letter was written to the 12 scattered churches. It was to be read to multiple churches. The reason for this letter was to minster to the suffering Jewish believers. These people were going through great trials, great troubles, through immensely difficult circumstances and their faith was being put to the test. These believers were reading about their faith that was in the fire.

Firstly, the reality of trials in the Christian life. These Jewish believers were suffering persecution. They were living in poverty. Many lost their homes, businesses and families. Verse 1 tells us they were scattered abroad. After Stephen was martyred in Acts 4 these Christians came under heavy persecution from the Roman empire. They refused to confess Caesar as Lord and instead they said there’s only one Lord and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. These believers had taken their stand. They were being stretched and squeezed but the sovereign God who saved them was still in complete control. James here writes this letter to instruct these scattered believers in the midst of their trial. And he says this strange word in verse one – “greetings.” That word means to rejoice. In verse 2 he says “my brethren count it a joy whenever you fall into various trials.” What a strange thing to say to someone who is suffering. How could any of us rejoice and count it a joy in the midst of trials? The truth is we can because the God who pours abundant and sufficient grace into our lives, he tells us clearly in his word that we can. We can rejoice. God tells us we can triumph in the midst of the trials of life. Verse 2 “when you fall into divers temptations.” That means trials. Notice it does not say “if you fall into” but rather “when you fall into.” There is absolutely no doubt about. Trials are unavoidable. Trials are inescapable. Thomas Martin once said “As the way to Canaan lay through a howling wilderness and desert, so the path to heaven lies through much affliction.” J C Ryle wrote “The grace of God exempts no one from trouble.” This is the reality. It says here in God’s word “When your trials will come.” They are spontaneous. These trials can arrive at any given time without warning. None of us knows the day. None of us knows when they are coming. None of us knows the minute when a trial could suddenly come into your life. Warren Wiersbe puts it in his commentary “the believer who expects the Christian life to be easy is in for a big shock.” We are God’s scattered people. We are not God’s sheltered people. We can’t be naïve as Christians. We must experience trials. Every day is not going to be easy. Every day is not going to see sunshine and hear the birds singing. Every day our plans are not just always going to go exactly the way we had planned them. The word of God teaches us nothing of the sort. Acts 14 verse 32 reminds us we must go through much tribulation to enter the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus warned his disciples in John 16 verse 33 “In this world ye shall have tribulation.” Jesus tells his disciples again in the upper room “You are they who have continued with me in my trials.” It is believed every one of the disciples except for one went to their death by way of martyrdom. The Lord Jesus Christ knew better than anyone about trials, troubles and suffering in life. He endured the greatest trial on the cross as he suffered and died at the hands of wicked men. These trials are spontaneous but also numerous. The Christian will face many trials in life. It’s not just one trial, then it is all over. There is no suggestion in the bible at all that life gets easier as the man gets better. We can say it is actually the opposite. Paul makes it clear in 2 Timothy 3 verse 12 that everyone that wants to live a godly life in Jesus Christ will be persecuted. Whenever we look back at church history many of the old saints of God who lived the most radiant lives and were used mightily were men and women who endured many of life’s greatest trials. C H Spurgeon the greatest preacher of the 19^th century, known today as the prince of preachers. It is estimated that Charles Spurgeon preached to over 10 million people in his life. He was a man used mightily of God in his day and in his generation. He saw many souls saved and won for Christ. He was a man with great talents, abilities and gifts. His life, his ministry, his sermons influenced so many right up to day but although this was a man with great gifts he was a man who endured numerous trials. He suffered many assaults from without, from critics and from those who hated the gospel. Whenever Spurgeon was alive many people made fun of him. But even worse of all he suffered greatly from within. He suffered from deep depression and discouragement. I am sure many times he felt like giving up. It is said that in Spurgeon’s bedroom he had a plaque on his bedroom wall with the words from Isaiah 48 verse 10 “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” Whenever he went to bed each night he would gaze upon those words and when he would open his eyes in the morning again he would gaze on those words. On time Spurgeon was asked to explain why God led him to put these particular words on his wall. He said this “It is no mean thing to be chosen by God. God’s choice makes chosen men to be choice men.” Then he goes on to say this “We are chosen not in the palace. We are chosen in the furnace. In the furnace beauty is marred, fashion is destroyed, strength is melted and glory is consumed. Yet here in the furnace, eternal love reveals its secrets and declares its choice.” What was he saying? He was telling us that God takes the trials of life and he melts us and he moulds us and he shapes us so that we become more choice instruments in his kingdom. Trials are spontaneous. Trials are numerous. But also trials are various. Look again at verse 3 “when ye fall into divers temptations, when you fall into divers trials.” Divers means various. 1 Peter 1 verse 6 it says “In this you greatly rejoice though now for a season if need be ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.” What does manifold mean? It means many kinds or it means various trials. You see, the trials in life are not all the same. It is like a weaver as he takes the various colours of yarn to make a beautiful rug. So too does God as he takes us and arranges the mixes, the colours and all the experiences in our lives that he brings forth a final product of something beautiful. We face various trials. Maybe we are facing trials in our family and we don’t know which way to turn. Maybe it is a trial at work this morning and you are holding on by a single thread. Maybe there is a trial in your own home. Maybe a difficulty within your marriage. Maybe it is a financial difficulty or a trial of health. But the word of God says in 1 Peter 4 verse 12 “Beloved think it not a strange thing concerning the fiery trial which is sent to try you as though some strange thing happened to you. But rejoice.”

Secondly, the reason for trials in the Christian life – verse 3 “Knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience,” That word trying means testing. It means to be put to the test. There is a reason why God allows trials to come into your life. God has a goal in mind and that goal is to prove you or improve you. I read that when it comes to making aeroplanes it starts off by designing a new plane on the drawingboard. Blueprints are made up and models are made. And after the models are tested, then construction begins. After 2 years the first plane will roll off the assembly line. But the question remains, will it fly? Will it pass the test? Well to prove that plane, the test pilot must take it through its paces in the air. When that plane has proven to be all that the maker promised it would be, then there is confidence in the plane and the airlines will buy it. In the same sense when precious metal is heated, it will become liquid and all the impurities will rise to the top and be scraped off and only the pure metal will remain. As one anonymous writer once said “The darker the night, the brighter the stars. The hotter the fire, the purer the gold.” And likewise God puts our faith in the fire to test and to prove that it is genuine. 1 Peter 1 verse 7 says “that the trying of your faith being much more precious than gold that perisheth though it be tried with fire might be found onto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” There is a reason for trials in the Christian life. Trials can produce something beautiful. Trials can produce something wonderful. The story is told of a little girl who came across a beautiful flower growing in the garden. As she stood admiring the flower, her eye followed the stem of the flower down into the soil and the dirt in which it grew in. This young girl deciding that the flower was so beautiful and it shouldn’t really be planted in such dirt, she pulled it out by the very roots and she began to wash it under the running water. Whenever the gardener came and saw what was happening he yelled “what are you doing you have destroyed my most beautiful flower.” The young girl was obviously shaken. She said, “I’m sorry, I just didn’t like it stuck in the dirt.” The gardener replied “young lady, do you not understand? The dirt is the very reason why that flower grew to be so beautiful.” Some times we complain of the circumstances. Sometimes we complain about the dirt we find ourselves in. Yet God the gardener places us in the very dirt where he knows that we can grow to be our best. Look again at verse 4 “But let patience have her perfect work. That you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing.” Trials are for our perfection. We all know that none of us are ever going to be perfect this side of eternity. But the word perfect here means to be fully grown and mature. It is nice to enjoy the good times in life. It's nice when everything’s rosy and when everything in life is going so well but you know the truth is that most of our spiritual growth,  most of our progression happens during difficult times in life whenever we feel hopeless and we feel torn and we don’t know where to turn. And when those times come, we turn to God and we trust him and we lean on him and we seek his sufficient grace. Trials are for our perfection but trials are also for our correction. Proverbs 3 verse 12 says “My son, despise not he chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his correction. For whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth. Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” Again in Hebrews 12 verse 16 “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” Chastening literally means child training. And sometimes the Lord allows trials to come into our life as a way of correcting us. And what he does he does for a purpose because as a father he loves us. Sometimes we experience trials because of our own sin. Sometimes because of disobedience, because of bad choices, we can invite trials to come into our life. But you know whenever we feel the pressure of the trial, often it should bring us to an end in ourselves that we might flee back to God. You can think of the Prodigal Son. He left his father’s presence and he selfishly left that home and pursued his sinful desires. Whenever all the money was spent and squandered, he found himself poor and eating with the pigs. It wasn’t until a difficult and trying circumstance came into his life that he was moved and prompted him to run back to his father who graciously welcomed him home with open arms. Think of Jonah after his disobedience to God. God told him to go to Nineveh and he ran in the opposite direction. He ended up in the belly of a big fish. This trial was a result of his own sin but God used it to correct Jonah that he might submit himself back to God’s will. Trials can be for our perfection but also trials can be for our direction. Think of the apostle Paul. He was shipwrecked as he made his way along the Mediterranean ocean in Acts 27 and 28. What a trial that must have been, he barely survived and instead ended up on the shore of Malta But Paul knew very well that all things work together for good to those who love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. And on that island God used Paul mightily. Maybe you find yourself in a situation or find yourself going in a direction that’s not by your choice. Maybe it brings pressures and challenges into your life that you’re finding difficult. Maybe uncertainty is weighing you down today. Remember, nothing is outside of God’s control. And whatever the reason is, it’s for God’s glory and for your good. The reality of trials in the Christian life. The reason for trials.

Thirdly, the response to trials. Verse 2 “My brethren count it all joy.” When it comes to trials we cannot control the type of trial. We cannot control the outcome of the trial but we can control how we respond to the trial. We can allow the trial to make us better. The verse tells us to count it all joy. Usually we count it all joy whenever we escape trials, sorrows or loss. But here we are told to count it a joy whenever trials come. What does this word count mean?  It means to calculate, evaluate or weigh up all the facts. Don’t rush into judgement. Don’t immediately assume and be led by your feelings and your emotions about what’s happening. Take time prayerfully to hold up the mirror of God’s word and evaluate the situation correctly. And you know, whenever you’ve done this you will realise that the trial has been permitted by a sovereign God for a sovereign purpose. And in the midst of the trial you can experience joy knowing that God is working everything for your good. You see, whenever we acknowledge Christ on the throne of our life circumstances shall not rob us of our joy. Remember Jesus was able to endure the cross. The bible says “because of the joy that was set before him.” All through the New Testament you can read repeatedly about the sheer joy that Christians experienced in the moments of their severest trials. Think of the apostle when they were flogged for preaching the gospel in Acts 5 verse 41 “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” Acts 16 verse 25 when Paul and Silas were in prison in Philippi in the middle of the night whenever everybody else would have felt sorrowful and downcast, Paul and Silas were able to pray and sing praises to God. Paul told the Corinthian believers in 2 Corinthians 7 verse 4 “I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulations.” But how could they be joyful? Why could they be joyful in these circumstances? It’s saying they can be joyful because when these trials come, we can look at them through the eye of faith, knowing that the outlook determines the outcome. And to end with joy, we must begin with joy, knowing the results they bring. You could think of Job. He had the right outlook whenever he said “But he knoweth the way that I take and when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”  John Newton said through  because we need them. And he proportions the frequency and the weight of them to what the case requires. The reality of trials. The reason for trials, the response to trials.

Fourthly, the reward after enduring trials in the Christian life. James reminds us in verse 12 “blessed is the man who endures temptations. For when he has been approved, he will receive a crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him.” There is an immediate reward. James says “blessed is the man”. Blessed means genuinely happy, signifying being happy over and over again. This kind of happiness is impossible if it depends solely on our circumstances. But it is a happiness that is always available to us all. Whenever we depend on the Lord, there is a happiness and there is a joy. Trials produce maturity, patience, prayerfulness in the Christian’s life. Not only is there an immediate reward but there is also an eternal reward – the crown of life. James here isn’t speaking about salvation because every believer is promised eternal life and those who possess it will never perish but James is speaking about the believers reward that is promised to those who endure grief for Christ. Those who remain steadfast to the end. In verse 12 there is a promise. It says he shall receive. It says the Lord has promised. There is a promise. There is also a prize. It says a crown of life. But don’t miss the procedure. It says the man who endures it. It says to them that love him. The crown of life is the reward for faithful endurance born out of a heart of love for the Saviour. 1 Corinthians 13 verse 78 tells you exactly what that enduring love looks like. It is a love that bears all things. It is a love that endures all things. It is a love that never fails. This crown is the martyr’s crown found in Revelation 2 verse 10 “Be thou faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life.” There will come a time if it hasn’t already when your faith will be in the fire and whenever that time comes remember the bible says “do not think a strange thing. All things work together for good to them that love God.” Endure it, learn from it, mature from it. Don’t let it make you bitter. Allow it to make you better. And with joy in your heart allow the world out there to see that by God’s grace you can smile back at the storm. Always knowing that in every situation, no matter what life throws at you, you can sing like the hymn writer “there is hope in every trial. For I can trust the Lord. He will turn my heart towards him and help me bear the thorn. So in faith I follow Jesus for his glory and my good.”

To you who believe ... He is precious

 

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2025 – MR KEITH LINDSAY, ACRE GOSPEL MISSION

1 PETER 2 VERSES 1 TO 9

If I asked you today “what is the most precious thing you have?” What would you say? There are many things considered precious to us. Some people have bought things for us and we think of them as precious. We accumulate for time. Sometimes we forget that soon it will all be over. We have a long eternity to prepare for. Verse 7 not a command but a declaration

“Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,”

“He is precious” that is what Christians have testified to in every age. No matter where we are from or what language we speak we cannot help but say he is precious. Why is the Lord Jesus precious or why should he be precious? Because of what he has done for us. What is Christmas all about at the end of the day? God became man. He left the splendours of heaven and came down to earth. He became flesh to become God among man. He came to grow in the body, to become a man. We read that in John 1. We are introduced to the Lord through his earthly ministry. He did so many wonderful things. He turned water into wine, healed the sick and blind, made the lame to walk. He did so many wonderful things. But that is not why he came. He is precious for what he has done for us. He set his face towards Jerusalem and said “I must needs go there.” We remember how when he came to Pilate’s judgment hall. Pilate asked “who do you want me to release, Barabbas or Jesus.” The people cried “crucify him, away with him.” It was all in the perfect plan of God. God had it planned long ago. The sinless, spotless Lamb of God. He was the once for sacrifice for sin. That is why he is so precious. Remember in the Garden when he cried “Lord if it be possible let this cup pass form me.” Imagine the suffering he went through. His visage was marred more than any man yet he was willing to go through the physical suffering of Calvary, to be nailed to the cross, rejected by the world. God cannot look on sin, he turned his back on Jesus. The salvation plan is accomplished on the cross. Is he precious to us today? Because of what he has done for us? He became sin for us.

He is also precious because of what he is doing right now. The Lord is not merely a teacher or prophet but the Son of the living God. Emmanuel, God with us. The world may reject him. Those who believe, he shall be precious to us. The more we learn of him the more precious he shall be. Holy, merciful, compassionate, powerful, faithful. He is alive today. God called us out of darkness into his marvellous light. We are a privileged people, a peculiar people, a chosen generation. God has given us so much. We have a Saviour who died on the cross. But he is not on the cross or in the tomb. We have an empty tomb and a living Saviour. He is precious because he is not dead. He lives in our hearts today. As believers we have something to sing and shout about today. Christ has changed our lives because he is a living Saviour. He is seated at the right hand of his Father today in heaven. “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” The work is finished, complete. He is alive and ever lives to make intercession for you and I. As I go to various churches I don’t know wo is in the pew, what people have been through. But there is one who knows and one who understands. As believers we know the one who holds tomorrow. He knows what you need today. He intercedes before the Father. He cares for us as individuals. He loves us with an everlasting love. He is interested in us. That is more than our families or neighbours are interested in us. We can cast our cares on the Lord today. We have a Saviour who knows.  Some days in the darkness we cannot see through to the light. Some times we will look back and be able to understand more.

He is precious because of what he is going to do for us. In a hopeless world today we can know the assurance that we have a hope today. A peace the world cannot give us. It passes all our understanding. We have the assurance of sins forgiven and a home in heaven for all eternity. God has given us wonderful privilege of hearing the gospel. He is precious to us because of what he is going to do for us in the future. We will see Christ face to face.

“ For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”