A sinner's prayer

 

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 12 APRIL 2026 pm – MR HENRY CASKEY

LUKE 23 VERSE 39 to 43

THE PRAYER OF A DYING MAN

 

“And one of the malefactors which were hanged reeled on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us? But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dust thou fear God, saying, Thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing of us. And he said unto Jesus, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." And Jesus said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt thou be with me in paradise."

I want us to take a look tonight at this particular scene that we have before us. Returning again to this scene that just outside the city walls of Jerusalem, just on that hill called Golgotha. And what I want to think about this evening is the words of this of this thief. Two malefactors, two thieves that were hanging on either side of the Lord Jesus Christ on this particular day. One thief was accusing the Lord and ridiculing and criticizing whilst the other was beginning to consider and to think things through. That's what I want to look at this evening. The prayer of a dying man. Sometimes we hear it said there's no such thing as the sinner's prayer. And I suppose in a degree I fully understand with that sentiment that there's no such thing as the sinner's prayer. But here we see this man hanging on at the side of the Lord Jesus Christ on a cross and he was a sinner. And we see him open his mouth and he utters a prayer. So it's a sinner's prayer. It's maybe not the sinner's prayer, but it's a sinner's prayer. And that's what I want to look at this evening. I want to think of this man. Think about some other sinners prayers. You remember how the Pharisee and the publican went up to the house of God and there they began to pray. Do you remember how the Pharisee went in and he got as near to the front of that congregation as he possibly could and he started to pray within himself. He prayed about how many good things he did. He wasn't like this old publican that just wandered in through the door by that old publican. He just opened up his mouth. He lifted up his voice. He says, "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner." And that man went down to his house justified. I think of the prodigal. You remember how he had spent all his money and riotous living. He went out into the world and he lived a great life and he had plenty of friends and fun and so many things going for him until he ran out of his money and then he ran out of friends and money. He thought to himself he would go back and see his father and he went back and do you remember what he prayed? He says, "I've sinned against heaven and before you." You see, dear friends, this evening, this is so important this evening, the words of this dying man. He says, "Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." And what was the result of that prayer? The Lord Jesus Christ spoke those words. He says, "Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise." He gave that dying man the assurance that he was on his way to heaven and to home. And isn't it wonderful tonight to have that assurance, to know tonight that we're on our way to heaven and home. The apostle Paul put it so well. He says when he would pass away that it would be absent from the body and present with the Lord. What assurance he had. The Bible says that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. What a wonderful assurance we can have this evening. The prayer of a dying man. He was standing on the word of God. He was standing on that word that the Lord said. He never doubted it. The Lord says, "Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise." And that man never doubted it. He realized that when he would close his eyes in death, that he would go into the presence of God for all eternity. Ebenezer Erskine was a an old Scottish preacher. He lived way back in the 1700’s. He died about somewhere about 1740 or 1750. But on his deathbed, one of his friends came to see him. And as he was lying upon his bed, one of the friends said to him, he says, "What are you doing with your soul?" And the old preacher said, "What I've always done for this past 40 years, I'm resting on God's word.”

I want to take a look at this prayer tonight. First of all, I want to say tonight that this prayer was a priority. This prayer was a priority tonight. He says, "Lord, "Remember me." You know, this is the most important prayer that this man ever prayed. These are the most important words that this man ever uttered from his lips. You see, this was a matter of great urgency tonight. Soon he knew that he would close his eyes in death. Soon he knew that he would be transported into another world. Here was a man who was believing now in a lost sinner's hell. And here's a man who was believing in a paradise to be gained. And isn't it wonderful tonight to know that there is a heaven tonight to be gained, that there is a hell to be shunned. Here was a man and he was hanging in the balance, ebbing out into eternity. Soon the last breath would be taken. Soon his eyes would close in death and he would be ushered out into another world. He didn't know when that would happen. He didn't know what time he had left, but he wanted to be certain when that would happen. The apostle Paul sitting in that old prison house said to young Timothy, "The day of my departure is at hand." He didn't know when it would happen. And there he was sitting in that prison cell, waiting for the steps of the executioner to come down to put the key into that lock of his cell and open it up and take him out and put him to death. He didn't know when that would happen, but he says, "I am now ready." Isn't that wonderful? Are you ready tonight? Are you ready for that day whenever you Will be ushered out into eternity? In Luke's gospel chapter 16, we read there of two men. One was a beggar man and the other was a rich man. The beggar man was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. He was carried into the very glories of heaven. The other man was a rich man. And the Bible says that he died. The Bible says that he was buried. And it says that in hell he lifted up his eyes. That old beggar man who lay at the gates of the rich man whose sores were licked day and daily by the very dogs that ran past. He was a man who made preparation for that day when he would leave that scene of time and he was ushered into eternity. The other man didn't. The other man left it and he left it too late and in hell he opened up his eyes. I wonder about us tonight. What's the priority tonight? You see this sinner man who is hanging upon this cross realized there was a great priority. There was a great urgency. He knew that he was going out into eternity, but he wanted to know for sure that he would be safe, that he would be in heaven. Julius Caesar, the Roman emperor, was given a letter on one particular occasion. That letter was marked urgent. He took it as he climbed up into his chariot. He was going to a Senate meeting and he took the letter from the hands of the man who gave it to him and tucked it into the belt that he had and he never opened it. Although it was marked urgent, he never opened it. And when he got to the Senate, he was met by 20 or 30 senators there who were very very jealous of him and who hated him and didn't want to see him gaining any more power than he already had. They attacked him there and then he was stabbed and he was stabbed some 23 times and put to death. When they took the letter from him, it was a letter from the hand of a man and his wife who were warning him not to go to the Senate on that particular day because they had heard that this was about to happen to him. But you see, he didn't heed the warning. He had no priority whatsoever. He didn't take that letter on board whatsoever. The Bible speaks of a man that made a great supper and then he sent the invitations. He sent the servants out around the area with the invitations come for all things are now ready. He had prepared everything. He just wanted to prepare this supper for the people around about. He wanted to throw open the doors and invite everyone that would come along. Then you remember how the people all began to make excuses. The first and he says, "Well, you know, I have bought a little bit of ground and I have to go and inspect it. I have to see what it's like. You will have to excuse me." And the other man, he received the invitation as well. And he said "Well, you know I have bought some oxen and I have to go now and prove them. I have to test them out to see to see what they're like. I don't have time. Excuse me from going." And the third man, he says "I've married a wife. I cannot come." You see, they all began to make excuse. The invitation wasn't treated with the priority that it should have been. I think of Felix as he listened to the apostle Paul. Paul was pleading with him and with that whole congregation. He says, “Paul, When I have a convenient time, I will listen to you again."  The time that was convenient was right there and then when the Apostle Paul was speaking to him, but he thought he had another day. How many people tonight will go out of gospel meetings tonight knowing that this was the night that they should have been saved, that God has spoken directly to them and shown to them their great need, a need of a Saviour, the need of salvation, that they have been born in sin and shapen iniquity and hell will be their home forever and ever. They are getting up out of a meeting and leaving and going out into the open air again probably saying in their heart of hearts, "Well, I'll come back next week. I will make it right next week." The thief here realized the time was running out and he says, "I have to set my priorities." It didn't matter to that thief on that particular evening about anything else. This was his priority. He says, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." This prayer, of course, was a priority.

This prayer was prompt. You see, the thief realized that this was the time to call out. It was a prompt decision. And he seized the opportunity. Isn't that what Isaiah the prophet could say back in Isaiah chapter 55? He says, "Seek ye the Lord when he may be found. Call upon him while he is near.” God is drawing near in this assembly tonight. God is drawing near in assemblies up and down the length and breadth of our land. God is speaking to the hearts of men and women tonight. And somehow there's no priority. Somehow there's no promptness. Somehow there's no reality that this is the day of salvation. Isaiah the prophet could say as God was drawing near to him "Come now and let us reason together." God was speaking to the nation. “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. And though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Think of that little church at Ephesus and the warnings that were given. The Lord Jesus Christ was pictured standing at the door. That little church felt that they had everything that they would ever need. They were rich, they needed nothing. They had the very best of a congregation, the very best of preachers and the very best of a building but the Lord Jesus Christ was on the outside and there was no promptness. They didn't realize that they were poor, wretched, naked, blind and they didn't realize that the one that they needed was on the outside of the door. The one that they needed was waiting for an invitation to come in. The Lord Jesus Christ stands at our heart's door. He wants to come into our life. He wants us to open the door and allow him to come in. He wants us tonight to trust him for what he has done on the cross of Calvary. He was there dying for you and me. Every sin of this old world was laid upon his body. Do you remember Zacchaeus? He climbed up into the sycamore tree just to see the Lord as he passed through Jericho. There he was sitting up in that sycamore tree and the Lord came and he passed by where he was and he looked up into the tree. He said “Zacchaeus make haste and come down." He probably come down that tree far quicker than he went up it. The Lord said "Make haste and come down." And the Lord says to men and women sitting in gospel meetings around the province tonight, "Make haste and come to the cross. Make haste tonight and make me your Saviour and Lord." Remember that woman with the issue of blood how prompt she was. For 12 years, she suffered. For 12 years, she tried every doctor, every physician, but none could help her. As a matter of fact, the Bible says about her condition, she just grew worse day by day. And then one day she heard about Jesus. He was coming down the very street where she was. She said, "If I may but just touch the hem of his garment, I've got to do it now because in a short time, he's not going to be here. I've got to do it now and I've got to push through and I've got to touch the hem of his garment." And so she did. And she touched the hem of his garment and there she felt the very power of God in her life and that she was fully and totally cleared of that situation. The story, I'm sure you have heard it on many occasion, but it just fits so well tonight. The story of DL Moody back in the great fire of Chicago - 8th of October 1871. He preached a sermon that night on that text of scripture where Pilate says, "What shall I do then with Jesus which is called the Christ?" D L Moody that night told his congregation of some 2,000 people “I want you to go home tonight and I want you to really think about this question what you're going to do with Jesus and I want you to make up your mind. They were all ushered out and of course the great fire consumed the city that very night and a lot of the congregation that were there that night all perished in the fire. And D L Moody vowed from that day from that day till he would go out into eternity that he would never again allow men and women to go out without pleading with them to come to Christ or their precious souls would be lost and lost forever. Here was a prayer that was prompted.  I have spoken on the doorsteps to many people as well as those who have waited behind in gospel meetings and they have said to me, "Well I know I need to be saved. I know that I'll never get into heaven without being saved. I know that I need the Savior tonight." They have got the priority, but there's no promptness. There's no reaching out while Jesus is there. And now is the accepted time. And now is the day of salvation.

This prayer was personal. What is this man praying for? He says, "Lord, remember me." This man was now counting the cost. He was weighing up his options, his sin, his wrongdoings. They were a burden to him now. There was a burden that was bearing upon him. And he knew that he was a sinner. He realized that with all of his heart.  No doubt going through his mind was every wrong action. No doubt at this particular time on that cross, he was weighing up all the sins that he had ever committed. The times when he ran with perhaps the other thief, the times when he ran with the crowd, the times when he robbed, he stole, he plundered, and so many different things. And all this was going through his mind. And he knew that he could not take these into heaven with him. He realized something needed to be done. And he realized that here was the man that could do it on the middle cross. His name was Jesus. This is the very reason that he come into the world. This old thief was starting to think for himself. He's going out now and he's going into his own kingdom. And I want to be with him, but I can't be with him unless my life is dealt with. These sins are dealt with, that they're underneath the blood. And he cried out. He says, "Lord, will you remember me?" And Jesus says, "Today, you shall be with me in paradise." Oh, the ridiculing, the slander and the mockery of the other thief. But now listen to the language of this man. You see, these two thieves, they railed on Jesus, both of them. There was no difference in them whatsoever until this moment in time. And here was this this thief. He said "Dost thou not fear God?" He is shouting over the other thief. This other thief, he's cursing the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, "Save yourself. Save us if you're who you should be or who you say you are. Get us down off the cross and save us." And this old thief on the other side said, "Hold your peace. Do you not consider the condemnation that we are in? We are both condemned together. It's our sinful lives that have condemned us to this fate today. But this man, this man has done nothing amiss.” He said, "We indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done nothing amiss." Here was a man who realized that he was a sinner. He was gone out into a lost eternity. This man is now owning up to his sin. You know, we can't get saved until we acknowledge that we have sinned. We can't get saved until we own our sin. In a sense it mattered not what the other thief was saying to this man. It mattered not what the Roman centurion was saying at the bottom of the cross. It mattered not what the soldiers were doing as they drew lots for the garments of Christ. It didn't matter. The most important person on that particular day was this old thief on the cross. He said, "Remember me." This is personal." In second Samuel, we read the story of when Nathan comes to David. David had sinned against Bathsheba. He had taken Bathsheba and got her husband sent off into the heat of the battle and had him killed. And then God sent Nathan to David. He said to David "I want to tell you a story, a story about two men. One was a very rich man. He had property. He had land. He had flocks. He had herds. The other man was just a simple man. He didn't have very much going for him. He only had the one little lamb. That's all he had.” And Nathan said, "A visitor came to the rich man's house. And instead of him going into his own flock and taking a lamb out of it, he sent his servants down to the poor man. He said, "Go down and get that lamb. I want you to make a feast for this visitor." And when David heard that, he was furious. He said "This man is wrong. This man's done wrong. This man will have to be punished." Nathan looked at him and said "Thou art the man.” David realized that day he had sinned and he bowed his head at the table where Nathan was sitting. "I have sinned against the Lord." You and I have broken God's laws. You and I have sinned against the Lord tonight. And yet, he has died upon the old rugged cross of Calvary that he might reconcile us, that he might save us, that he might forgive us our sins. But until we acknowledge that we have sinned and that I have sinned, then we cannot be saved. Pilate standing before the Lord Jesus Christ, looked at him and he knew what the religious leaders said about the Lord Jesus. He knew what the crowd was saying, but he owned up to it. "What shall I do?" You see, this is personal tonight. Salvation's personal tonight. Salvation is for you tonight. Salvation is for me tonight. I have got to own up to my sin. I have got to acknowledge that Christ died on the cross for a lost mankind. But I have got to acknowledge tonight that he paid the price for me tonight before I'm saved. Have you done that tonight?

The prayer was precise. There was no beating about the bush here. This man knew what he needed to do. The old thief, he realized at this point in time that salvation was of the Lord and there were no fancy words. “Lord, remember me when thou comest into the kingdom.” God waits tonight to hear your prayer. A precise prayer for salvation. This man realized that. It dawned upon his soul that death was coming. There was no time to beat about the bush. Death was coming. Isn't that what the scriptures tell us? “It is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgment.” Many are sitting tonight putting salvation off. None of us are here forever. David the king could say that there is a step between me and death. Here was a man and he realized that he was a sinner.

Lastly, the prayer was positive. This man's prayer was positive. Why? Because Jesus said, "Thou shalt be with me in paradise." I'm sure that old thief breathed a sigh of relief that day. I'm sure he thought to himself, "Calvary surely does cover it all. All the wrongs that I have done, all the misdeeds that I have carried out, I am forgiven. And I'm on my way to heaven and to home." What a day it was for this old thief. What a day for you tonight in this gospel meeting just to come to Christ. There's one who has taken your place on the cross of Calvary. One tonight that approves of it all. It pleased the Lord to bruise him. Every sin was laid upon him and he has paid the debt and he wants to open the door of heaven for you this evening hour and he waits for you to come. Imagine the Lord is waiting, arms outstretched, waiting for you to make your way to him to hear those words today. “Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.”